


Surprises

by Kitahoshi



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Drinking Games, Drunk Sex, Eventual Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Fingerfucking, Friendship, Heavy Drinking, Kissing, Lemon, Marriage, Mild Language, Misunderstandings, Oral Sex, Possessive Behavior, Supernatural Elements, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-21 09:13:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 48,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4823390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitahoshi/pseuds/Kitahoshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place after chapter 340 of the manga (episode 203 of the anime) - Lucy returns from the Grand Magic Games and has many surprises, particularly from the reformed Laxus. Pairings: LaLu, (minor ElfGreen and GaLe)<br/>cross-posted on Fanfiction.net and Deviantart</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Lucy hadn't previously thought that the guild partied too hard, but now she was reconsidering it. Getting back from Tenrou island was a happy occurrence, but why did the celebration need to be so happy that it became painful? The reality was painful enough as it was, particularly for Lucy.

Lucy finally decided to take stock of her current position, despite her aching head and comfortable bed urging otherwise. Without opening her eyes, she could tell it was definitely morning by the way that the light was filtering in the window. She moved slightly, yep, all her limbs were still there. Well, she felt pretty awful, but if the sun had come up and she still had all her limbs, it couldn't be that bad of a day. She tried to convince herself to leave her bed, but she lacked the real conviction to do so. Her post drinking nausea had more than enough conviction to make up for it though.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes reluctantly and rolled herself out of the bed as quickly and gracefully as she could. She was surprised when her foot landed on something on the floor but didn't have the time to check what it was before running to her bathroom.

Lucy registered a few things at that moment, but she couldn't understand the significance of them yet, it was too early and her head was killing her. What had possessed her to drink that night anyway? She didn't usually join in on that part of the guild's celebration. She took stock of her body again, and found that her whole body was aching. Did she drink wine? Well, that might explain the pain and hang over, though it seemed unlikely that she'd get drunk on wine alone. It didn't really matter that much either, as it seemed there was a far more important thing she hadn't noticed earlier: she was still in the dress she had worn the night before, but her panties were mysteriously absent. Furthermore, the run to the bathroom had been slightly more painful than it should have been.

She moved her face back over the toilet, and swore that she would never drink anything, ever again. When she finished throwing up, she actually started to feel better. She stood up to get some water from the sink tap to drink, and it dawned upon her again that she was quite sore to the point that walking seemed to be an issue. In fact, there was a certain part of her that hurt more than it had ever hurt before. She grumbled, wondering if someone had kicked her the night before in a drunken battle. Then she absentmindedly reached down with one hand to scratch the inside of one of her thighs and stopped. There was an unusual texture on her leg, like something had dried on it. She took the moment to investigate thoroughly, glancing downward and lifting the hem of her dress only as far as necessary to find what she was looking for. Ah, and there it was! There, on the inside of her thigh was... dried blood? Lucy grimaced, her period wasn't due for a while so it was incredibly unlikely that that was the source. If it had been, she would most definitely still be wearing her panties and yet they were still missing-in-action. Lucy dropped the hem of her dress and continued to sip some water out of a glass she kept in the bathroom while looking herself over in the mirror. She looked as awful as she felt, that was certain. In the mirror, she looked pale and hung over, but there was something else too. Her lips seemed a bit bruised, perhaps?

Lucy decided that everything could wait until after she had a nice, soothing shower. As a precaution, she creeped back to the door and peeked out. It was more likely than not that she had stepped on Natsu on her way to the bathroom, since it wasn't an unusual thing to happen in her apartment. What she saw in her room made her slam the bathroom door back closed and locked it, she eased back onto the floor from her unsteady standing position. It wasn't just that Natsu was on the floor next to her bed that had surprised her, it was the fact that there were two naked men in her room. Natsu was on the floor next to her bed, where he usually ended up if he tried to sneak into her bed and she kicked him out in her sleep because he was always too hot. Besides Natsu being naked (except for his scarf, oddly enough), Grey was passed out nearby on her couch, also naked. She didn't even care at this point whether her slamming the door woke them up, even though she realized that waking them up meant noise and her brain was struggling to keep it together as it was.

A shower... She needed a shower more than she ever had in her entire life and she needed it now for her pulsing head. With the door locked, she threw her lone dress off and turned the taps on. Lathering her hands with some pomegranate scented soap, she began the long journey to normality. As she did so, and she managed to get some relief, she began to put the pieces of her puzzling morning together. Soreness. Blood. Two naked nakama. No panties. She was on the cusp of a breakthrough when the soap reached her neck and she gasped out loud as she felt the stinging of an open wound. She was feeling calm enough at that moment to finish cleaning herself and then rinse herself off before she wandered back to the mirror and found the key to the puzzle. There, in such plain sight that she was a fool for not seeing it earlier, were teeth marks in her neck. Her stomach flipped at the sight of it, and for a moment she thought she remembered something before she was interrupted by the stirring of her nakama in the next room.


	2. Chapter 2

"Natsu, what the hell man?! Put some clothes on! That is the last thing I needed to see this morning!" Grey shrieked, interrupting Lucy's concentration and doing her aching head no favours. Lucy threw on a bathrobe as quickly as she could, hobbling to the door in the hopes that she would get there before Natsu had a chance to respond-

"You have no right to say that to me!" Natsu replied just as energetically. Lucy had just managed to open the door in the hopes of stopping him from adding to her pain and got an earful as her reward. She glared at the pair, deciding she hated them too much at this moment to even care that neither of them had thought of covering themselves. At the sound of the door, the two men had turned to look at her, and fell silent under the wrath of her gaze.

"If you're going to yell, just go." She managed to say menacingly, while consciously trying to keep her volume down. The two nakama guffawed at her, so she pointed at the door emphatically for them. It was then that they began scuffling around for their pants, which they found in a really strange place. They didn't want to test her patience further by asking why their pants had been pinned to the wall in her kitchen, so they decided they would take that up with her at the guild later.

Once her door closed behind the two of them, she revelled in the quiet and decided that for now, kicking them out had been the right decision. She took the rest of that morning to relax and generally mope about until she felt well enough to go to the guild. When she made it there, she found that, with the exception of Cana, most of the guild members had had a night as rough as she had. She wandered over towards the bar where Mira was offering ice packs to the other mages with hangovers and sat in front of her before laying her head down. She was vaguely uncomfortable, as she wasn't used to wearing long necked garments anymore, but she hadn't really had a choice in the matter if she wanted to avoid talking about the mark on her neck. At the memory of it, she sat straight up. She regretted it, as she wasn't feeling entirely good yet but she had to ask Mira.

"Mira, what in the world happened last night? I feel awful," Lucy whined at her friend. Mira turned from serving another person and tilted her head to the side as if she herself was having trouble remembering it.

"I wonder," she said, thoughtfully. Lucy made a fairly unhappy face in response to this, so she decided to have mercy this one time. "There was definitely drinking, which was surprising that you joined in at all, and then there were some games as well. Have you asked your team yet?". Mira gestured over at the table where Natsu, Happy, and Lisanna were talking brightly. Lucy was still feeling pretty awful, so she resented the fact that he seemed to have bounced back so well, but then there was Grey and Juvia also looked quite healthy this morning. Seeing them there in their particular pairings did make her wonder if it was worth finding out the truth after all. Maybe it would be better to just pretend the whole thing didn't happen, considering that she didn't have the strength to fight off the two other women at the moment and that she liked them too much to do so anyways.

She felt that she and Juvia were finally on good terms, and felt even affection for the blue haired water mage. Then there was Lisanna, so sweet and cute, like a younger sister to the entire guild. Lucy was also aware how frustrating that image had to be for her while she was trying to get Natsu's attention. With a deep sigh, Lucy decided that she was putting her foot down and was not going to investigate this any further. She honestly didn't want to know which man had been drunk enough to take her virginity and completely forget about it. The writer inside her suggested that maybe it had been both of them, before she emphatically pushed that thought out of her mind. No! The issue has been settled, and keeping her precious team and guild together came first. She had priorities. She finally looked back at Mira, who was probably formulating her own ideas about Lucy's silence.

"No, I haven't spoken to them yet. I guess I'll do that next, since I probably owe them an apology," She said demurely. Mira was still eyeing her thoughtfully, so she quickly added: "Did I win any of the games?"

"Sorry, I don't think so. Although my handwriting was pretty bad at the time, it looks like you didn't manage to win anything this time. Cana did very well as usual, but I'm sure you'll do better next time Lucy."

"Ugh, no thanks. Although I'm sure it was fun, I am never drinking again. It's just not worth it. What did I end up drinking anyway? I felt so sore this morning, like I'd had too much wine or something." Lucy wondered out loud.

"We certainly had wine, but I think you had some of whatever Cana was drinking at some point as well. Everyone was really impressed!" Mira enthused, before realizing that she was speaking a bit too brightly for her nakama who were still feeling the effects of the night before. "Are you sure you don't want to play the drunk games again? It looks like you did okay in the scavenger hunt." Mira was looking at a napkin with some pretty messy writing, and Lucy thought it was a miracle that she could read it in the first place.

"No, really, I'm taking a break from every type of alcohol there is for a while. I honestly have no idea how Cana does it," Lucy said, looking over at the victorious woman, who had somehow managed to win games while stone drunk. She removed her hand from where it was resting over the mark on her neck, and decided that, for certain, this was the last that she was going to think about it.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy had learned very little about that missing night, though her team mates had inquired about their pants. She, in turn, had asked Mira about it, at which point Mira had looked surprised and cried out: "What?! You finished your scavenger hunt list and didn't tell me?". Lucy sighed, and realized that the reason her friends had been naked in her apartment in the first place was most definitely her fault.

"Oh, so I did win?" Lucy had asked the take over mage.

"Well, I don't know, since I don't know the timeline, and technically you didn't turn in the last few items on your list. You might have won if you had." Lucy looked away and sighed again. She was certain that the scavenger hunt was to be blamed for many mysteries. She hoped fervently that she had returned anything else that she had stolen in Mira's drunken games. With the use of a flesh coloured bandage, and some seriously distracting events at the guild and the grand magic games over the last few weeks, that other thing had left her mind entirely until her team mates had asked about their pants.

Honestly, a lot of things had slipped her notice because she was too tangled up in current events. She was disappointed about not winning the scavenger hunt after all, to her own surprise. Something else had suddenly come to mind. From Mira's perspective, Lucy seemed to be concentrating quite hard and counting on her fingers. She stopped and then started over a few times, before a look of victory came across her face, implying she had figured out whatever it was she was counting. Then she continued to be quiet and paled. Mira moved toward her, to ask the younger girl what exactly was bothering her before the look disappeared and Lucy was violently shook her head and looked relieved. Mirajane left it at that, but worried it was an issue with the celestial spirit mage's rent again.

Lucy stood up suddenly, and moved toward the door of the guild, seemingly calm. The only thing that gave her away was when she ran straight into something very solid.

"Ow," She said, looking up to see what it was and found Laxus staring at her, as if he was waiting for something. She blushed intensely, and realized that she had run straight into him because she hadn't been watching where she was going. He was probably waiting for an apology. "Oh, sorry Laxus." He didn't seem angry so much as curious, so she figured he was probably just going to let it go at that. Laxus was nice that way, so quiet, not asking her ridiculous questions like 'why did you pin our pants to the wall in your kitchen?' or 'why weren't you paying attention to where you're walking?'. Laxus had started to be a lot more social and dare she say it... nice to the guild. She felt like she saw him around a lot more, despite the fact that they were now receiving many job requests.

"It's fine," he said, moving out of her way. He talked more than she had known him to before, which made it easier for everyone to get to know him. She nodded to him in thanks for moving out of her way before she remembered the whole reason she had run into him in the first place.

Lucy Heartfilia, for the first time in her entire life, was late. Or, she thought, that she might be. It was extremely difficult to tell because certain events had compressed her biological time in such a way that it had been difficult to count. While she didn't regret spending a wonderful night with the celestial spirits (particularly because they were breaking the rules for her), it had really messed up her trying to count out the weeks since she last had her period. She had given it some serious thought, and realized that if that time had only passed as a night for her, then she should have had her period two weeks ago. With the serious abuse to her body that took place during the grand magic games, she was certain even Erza's would be late by a few days. Two weeks was a bit much though, so she knew that she ought to seek out some medical help from someone who dealt with mages. Normally she would have gone to Wendy, but she needed someone who was quiet. Someone who wouldn't talk to anyone about her business, or unnecessarily worry Natsu and her other close friends if it came to nothing. Asking Wendy to look her over would certainly cause worry, so she really had no choice. There was only one person to talk to, and Lucy wasn't sure how she was going to convince the woman that it was worth her time.

Should she bring a gift or something? Yes! A gift! What do you buy for a woman like Porlyusica? Then Lucy was hit by inspiration, and she knew exactly what to bring her. She grimaced somewhat, knowing that this was an incredibly dirty trick on her part, but she truly did not have a choice in the matter. With that, she wheeled around to the guild and ran back for one tiny little thing.

With the preparations made, Lucy triumphantly made her way into the forest where she vaguely recalled Porlyusica living. She crossed her fingers and hoped that she hadn't moved in the seven years that they had been sealed in Tenrou island. She wouldn't blame the ornery woman if she had, since she liked to keep to herself for the most part.

She wandered around for a while, and it was apparent that Porlyusica had indeed moved farther away from Magnolia. Well, it wasn't like Lucy had plans for that day anyway. She found Porlyusica's house at the exact moment she was planning to give up and turn back. She almost let out a breath in relief before she remembered that stealth was part of her plan.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy pulled out the Gemini key as quietly as she could, and nodded at the two spirits, having already discussed her strategy with them. The mage herself moved to hide behind a tree, then silently signaled to her spirits.

It was in the form of Wendy that the gemini spirits knocked on Porlyusica's door. She could tell the woman was displeased before she answered the door. Peeking out from behind the tree, she saw Porlyusica fall silent before shaking her head at Wendy's appearance.

"I know you're there, and you can come out. I am capable of telling the difference between a person and a celestial spirit." the older woman said, and she sounded insulted. Lucy realized that the plan wasn't necessarily ruined, and came out from behind the trees to directly approach Porlyusica.

"Of course. I just thought that you might enjoy seeing Wendy. Because of her relationship with Grandine, I thought it might be nice for you to see her without her seeing you." Lucy held back from making the sign for victory when she saw Porlyusica reach down and ruffle the copy's hair. Gemini's copy of Wendy responded appropriately, smiling and blushing a bit. Porlyusica pulled her hand away and then turned her intense red eyes onto Lucy. She took this as the sign to release gemini back to the spirit realm.

"What did you really come here for, ?" Porlyusica asked her point blank. Now that Lucy was here, she was having a hard time actually saying what she needed to say. When she saw the older woman beginning to retreat into her cottage she panicked.

"I think I'm sick! Can you please help me?" Lucy said quickly in one breath. Porlyusica merely looked annoyed, but seemed to understand what it was that she had said.

"You're fine. You're wasting my time."

"No, you don't understand! My period is late and it's never late! I've also been feeling really tired and sometimes I have a hard time eating." Lucy continued to speak really fast. Lucy had come to Porlyusica purposely because of her experience with magic, because there was no way in Earthland that she was pregnant. She had physically suffered so much in the past few weeks, from her "training" with Ultear to her defeats in the games and even her near death experience with that one Sabertooth woman, that it was impossible. This left only one, terrifying thing: she was sick. Porlyusica didn't seem any less annoyed, so Lucy started to wonder if maybe the sickness was just emotional exhaustion after all. The woman had said she was fine. The silence had stretched between them so long that she wasn't sure the older woman was going to answer at all.

"Are all humans this stupid?" Porlyusica admonished her, making her flinch. "I'll say this one more time: you are not ill." This made Lucy happy to hear, but she still couldn't really understand why the woman was being so harsh about it. Anyone would think they were sick in this situation, wouldn't they?

"But..." Lucy managed to say before Porlyusica rolled her eyes and turned to look at something in the distance behind Lucy.

"You look smart, you explain it to her." Porlyusica said to no one that Lucy could see before closing the door to her cottage. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a lightning bolt came down very close to her. It shocked Lucy into silence, even though it was just Laxus standing there. Why was Laxus here? How much had he heard? Was he going to tell anyone? Well, not that there was anything to tell since Porlyusica had very firmly told her that she was fine.

"You really have no idea, do you?" Laxus asked her quietly.

"I'm sorry I wasted Porlyusica's time, I guess it was just exhaustion. I'm embarrassed you had to see this. Were you here to ask something too?" Lucy said, trying to brush off this incident as coolly as possible. Laxus didn't respond the way she had hoped, and instead he raised his eyebrows while an unfamiliar blush fell across his face.

"Lucy, you're pregnant." He said, almost defensively. She had been looking away in her own embarrassment after her last statement, so when she spoke again she whipped her head back to look at him so quickly it was a wonder she didn't have a whiplash.

"What?" She uttered, before she had even had a chance to comprehend what he had said to her. His expression had gone to normal, and he seemed to be giving her a few moments to think this through. Once it did, she narrowed her eyebrows in consternation. "That's impossible!". He rested one of his large palms over his face, clearly having a hard time with the topic of their conversation. Lucy was too caught up in her emotional turmoil to give him any mercy. She charged at him, suddenly angry. He could have easily dodged her, but he stood still and let her hit him on his broad and solid chest. She gathered her hand back to herself, her anger dispelled by the pain and shame of letting herself take it out on him.

"I... I almost died." She said quietly, unable to meet his eyes.

"Lucy, let's talk about this somewhere else. Okay?" He said, seemingly much calmer than she was. She sighed, realizing that after lashing out at him, he deserved at least that much. Porlyusica was likely also waiting for them to leave. He rested one of those big hands on her shoulder, and they turned to walk back to Magnolia.

"We can't talk at my apartment," She simply stated, reassured and calmed by this turn in events. It was Laxus, so he wasn't going to tell her secrets to everyone. He was wonderfully complex in that way. Besides which, there was literally no telling who was waiting in her apartment right now. Did everyone in the guild have a key to her apartment or was there an air duct they were sneaking in through? Yet another mystery in this world that she didn't particularly care to know.

"My place is closer anyway."


	5. Chapter 5

As they walked to Laxus' house from Porlyusica's cottage in the forest, Lucy and Laxus didn't speak. The silence was a welcome break, considering that Lucy still owed him an apology for hitting him, regardless if it was probably less than a mosquito bite to a man like Laxus. It was still rude, and she had disrespected her (technically) senior nakama. After a while, the silence grew so comfortable that she had forgotten they were walking with an actual destination in mind. It was almost a little shocking when she found herself standing in front of a medium sized home on the outskirts of Magnolia.

"Your house," she started, wondering about the home where Laxus had grown up. "it's so far from the guild." She finished her sentence with whatever came to mind first, realizing that he had been waiting for her to do so. Laxus let out a robust laugh that echoed in the empty street before he slipped his key in the lock and opened the front door.

"All the buildings closest to the guild get damaged first, so the old man was crafty in setting up a house all the way out here." He said, removing his trademark fur lined coat and throwing it on a nearby couch in the front room.

"The master lives here?!" Lucy squeaked, worry creeping back into her face. She could feel Laxus gently guiding her toward the dark couch before he disappeared into the adjacent kitchen. She could hear him running the water.

"The old man hasn't lived here in a long time," Laxus replied somewhat gruffly from the kitchen before clearing his throat. Lucy relaxed, hearing this response although she shouldn't have been surprised. The house was clearly built as a family home, and it seemed like Laxus had replaced only a few pieces of furniture. She had a hard time imagining Laxus living somewhere so quaint. She wondered if his mother had decorated it, but decided that that line of thought was pointless. She was already being rude intruding in his home and he didn't need her asking personal questions just because curiosity might get the better of her. She wondered if he had also lost his mother, if he was like her that way, and leaned further into the well worn couch. The sleeve of his coat wasn't far from where she was resting her face, and it smelled like him. She almost closed her eyes, grasping onto anything that would distract her from her current situation. Then he poked his head around the corner.

"I'll make you some tea, okay?" he said to her, and she almost laughed out loud at how domestic the mighty Laxus sounded right now. She managed to hold back the laugh, smiling and nodding to his question. Laxus is so nice, she thought as he disappeared into the kitchen again. She stopped herself from pulling up her legs and curling up on his couch. She was feeling very content, because as long as she sat here in the quiet, she could almost pretend that everything in the forest hadn't happened. She mused that she was just here because Laxus had invited her to tea or something. She dismissed that thought quickly because it sounded ridiculous. Did he invite Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow here? Is this living room the very place that they planned the battle of Fairy Tail? She had become so comfortable and lost in her thoughts, that she looked up in surprise at the sound of a mug touching the coffee table in front of her. No coasters? Well, that did match Laxus better than the mug itself, which was one of those cheesey #1 Dad types. Was this given to the master of Fairy Tail or the master of Raven Tail? As Laxus sat on the other end of the couch, she realized she was deflecting from her own issues again. Oh how easy it was to wrap herself up in the complexity of Laxus than it was to acknowledge her own stupidity.

"Lucy," Laxus spoke so quietly she almost missed it. "how are you?". Drinking tea, and having this cozy conversation made Lucy smile. She supposed she was worrying him with how quiet she had been for the last while.

"I'm feeling better, thanks Laxus." She said, making an effort to say his name. It didn't feel nearly as strange as their current situation, but it was nice. She might be able to tell him if he was going to be this gentle about it. Could lightning be gentle? She smiled as she took a sip of the tea he had made her. It was peppermint. He was either being very kind by offering something soothing and good for an upset stomach or this was all he had in his cupboard. She decided that for the sake of her tea party delusion, he was being kind.

"You don't have to..." he started, failing to finish his sentence. He took an audible breath and finished speaking: "If you don't want to, you don't have to give birth to it." The smile on Lucy's face slipped away as quickly as it had come, and he almost regretted saying anything at all. The comfortable silence had turned awkward, and rather than see her expression, Laxus chose to focus his gaze on the coffee table before him.

"I don't really feel like I have a choice," Lucy said weakly. She smiled almost bitterly, and shook her head when he turned to her and opened his mouth to speak. "If I have been carrying this child through the entirety of the grand mage games, and it managed to survive that, then I feel that it really wants to be born." Lucy ended her speech by taking a sip of the tea. Laxus seemed to be struggling to say something again, so she focused on looking at him to let him know she was listening. Her surroundings were making her feel more in control, and she couldn't thank Laxus enough. She was sure that if she had gone home she would just be crying right now. Seeing someone else worry made her feel strong.

"Since when do you think...?" He attempted, still staring at the space in front of him.

"Do you remember the party we had after we got back from Tenrou island?" She asked. He nodded, without looking at her. "Well, it could have only been then. To be embarrassingly honest, I don't even remember that night." He looked up at her in surprise.

"You don't look three months pregnant. How?" He began before she set her cup down and interrupted him.

"I'll tell you this secret, but you must keep it Laxus." She said seriously. He nodded dumbly. "When everyone took those three months to train, well, my group was invited to the spirit realm and we had a party. Well, little did we realize that the passage of time was different there. Three months went by while we were there for one night." She expected him to be disappointed, but he seemed far from it. He began laughing, and although she didn't get the joke, her stomach did some strange flip flops. When he finally managed to get control of himself, he fixed her with a half smile.

"Lucy Heartfilia, don't worry about anything. I will take care of everything with the guild," He said, looking suspiciously happy. His use of her name was also unusual. She sipped her tea, giving herself time to answer.

"Well, if you say so. I don't see how I'm supposed to cover my rent with easy jobs for the next while," Lucy grumbled, feeling that he was taking this far too lightly.

"Really, don't worry about it." He said, standing and grabbing his coat. "I'll walk you home."


	6. Chapter 6

Lucy Heartfilia was giving some serious consideration to redecorating her bathroom. She certainly spent enough time in it, she thought as she flushed away her breakfast. She had been grumbling about 'easy jobs not paying well enough' just two nights ago to Laxus, and now she wondered how she was supposed to go out on any job in this condition. She rinsed her mouth out at the sink before hearing the usual knocking on the door.

"Lucy, Happy and I are going to the guild now. Are you coming?" Natsu asked brightly. Considering his habit of sneaking into her bed during the night, she wasn't sure how much longer she could hide this from him. He had just come back from a job with Grey and of course he immediately had to come to rant about it in the middle of the night about how Grey had only gotten in his way. He had a very good sense of smell, so even now she wondered how much he knew. She allowed herself to grimace for a few seconds before slapping her own cheeks.

"I'm going to take a shower, so I'll see you there later." she replied, smiling to add brightness to her tone.

"Okay, see you later," he replied. Lucy started brushing her teeth, waiting to hear her door shut behind the fire dragon slayer before letting the tension flow out of her tired body. It was hard enough to sleep as it was, wondering what she was going to do about her finances, and now she had Natsu hanging all over her. He probably wanted to drag her on a mission so that it wouldn't be him and Grey again, which meant she really did need to tell him so he wouldn't pick something she couldn't handle. She didn't think she was made of glass now or anything, but any missions that required full days were not going to work if her morning sickness kept up this way. She prayed to whatever god might hear her for her morning sickness to end soon. She had to tell the guild at some point too. Or maybe Laxus had already talked to the master for her? She wondered if they had some sort of maternity leave. She knew that Natsu would be more than happy to help her with expenses if he knew, but she wasn't even sure how to bring up the topic. She finished brushing her teeth, and rolled her eyes. Today was the day. Today she was going to march into the guild and she would tell her friends and, most importantly, her team, that she was pregnant. She had a plan though. She was going to tell them that she met some handsome man and didn't get his name. It was just so much easier than telling them she didn't know but suspected it might be one of them. As she wandered out to get changed for the day, she worried if even saying that much would sound suspicious. Knowing the guild, they were all going to think it was poor Natsu.

The pink haired dragon slayer surprised her outside her apartment building.

"Hey Luce! Let's walk to the guild together!" Natsu said brightly. She couldn't refuse his enthusiasm and responded in kind.

"Sure! Let's go. Where's Happy?". Lucy looked around but couldn't see the blue cat. Natsu was looking ahead while they walked, so she had no idea what expression he was making when he next spoke.

"Lucy, I wanted to say something. I sent Happy ahead." Lucy laughed quietly, guessing what it was he wanted to say.

"Yes, yes, I know you want to do a mission with me so that Grey doesn't get in your way again, right?" She said, catching up with her friend. He had somehow managed to get a few steps ahead of her.

"Ugh, that guy! Why would anyone ask for us as a team?! Our abilities don't even work together!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Yeah, really," She agreed. "Together you could make rain, but Juvia can already do that by herself." Natsu had more to say on the subject, and realized that he hadn't had a chance to ask Lucy what he had meant to until they were already standing outside of the guild. Lucy moved toward the entrance, so he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Lucy, what I actually wanted to say was something else."

"Alright, alright, what is it, Natsu?" she asked turning back to look at him. She blew some hairs out of her eyes and finally noticed that he was serious. "What's wrong?".

"Lucy, your smell has changed," He stated quietly. Lucy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Could all the dragon slayers smell her? She smelled her own arm, amazed at the power of dragon senses.

"Really? How can you tell?" Lucy asked, still genuinely curious about exactly how well he could smell her. He let go of her arm at last, and looked away for a moment. Was this it? Was her secret out? She could think of worse ways for it to happen she supposed.

"I know how you smell normally Lucy," Natsu rolled his eyes. Lucy sighed, resigned to her fate. She put her hands up in front of her as a white flag.

"Listen Natsu, I don't want to talk about it out here. I have some news, and I wanted to share it with everyone together. Can you wait?" she asked, using her eyes to plead with him for understanding. He shrugged his shoulders in defeat, and nodded. "Thanks." Lucy had a big plan, and it was going to take courage but she was going to do it.

Lucy and her plan fell apart the moment she walked into the guild. It was somewhat quiet, and everyone was looking up at the bar as if waiting for something. Lucy walked closer to the front so she could see what was going on and found Laxus and the master there. The two of them looked happy about something, which terrified her a bit – was there anything in this world that those two men could agree on?


	7. Chapter 7

Lucy was far too curious as to what the master and Laxus were possibly telling people to break away and tell her own news. She wouldn't have anyone's attention until they were done anyway. She pushed forward into the crowd and some of their words started to reach her. "Big news", "great for the guild", and so on. She quietly wondered if they were going to introduce some sort of maternity leave. That would be something really nice for her situation, she thought. She shook her head, and reminded herself that not everything was about Lucy Heartfilia.

"I was surprised too, I didn't think that Laxus would get married," the master laughed. Laxus was married? Lucy wanted deeply to pretend that this didn't bother her. Maybe she had been drinking his girlfriend's tea. She hoped to high heavens that it wasn't Evergreen, because she had always thought the woman liked Elfman. She honestly couldn't think of anyone else that Laxus was close to. Mirajane? Mirajane and Laxus? Lucy pondered about this for a moment and threw out the idea that moment. Mira was lots of fun, but she wasn't sure that they would be a good couple. Mirajane might cause Laxus to pull out his own hair because she enjoyed teasing people too much. The thought, combined with Laxus' new hair cut, made Lucy giggle under her breath.

Lucy finally managed to get near the front of the crowd, and found Laxus' eyes fixed on her almost immediately the moment she got there. She didn't say anything when he reached in to grab her arm and pull her out. He didn't really need to do that; she wasn't being crushed or anything. She grimaced. Was he going to start treating her differently because he knew? Goodness, what about her friends? She didn't think she was capable of doing this for another eight months if people started being weird towards her. She most certainly would not stand for all this grabbing that was happening. She was still a person, not some cup that people were passing around. She both relaxed and tensed when she realized that she had been pulled in so that one of Laxus' large arms was hanging around her shoulder. Stars, his arm was heavy! She shot a side glance at the lightning dragon slayer, before realizing that she was suddenly in the spotlight with the master and his grandson. She was pretty sure mood swings didn't start until later, and that she was just in a bad mood because nothing was going according to her plan. Natsu was in the back with their usual group, staring at her, no, through her with his dark eyes. She was almost too distracted that she might have missed what was said next had it not been so ridiculous.

"Good, Lucy, you're here." Makarov said, though she missed it because she had just seen Natsu in the crowd. "My grandson, Laxus, is getting married." Lucy turned to look at him, finally paying attention and wondered why in the world she had been pulled into this nonsense. Maybe it was a two part announcement and the second part applied to her. She tried to be patient, despite the fact that something was really bothering her now.

"Lucy and I are planning to wed as soon as possible," Laxus said in his deep voice, and she realized that he was answering someone's question. She also realized that she really needed to put her mood swing aside and pay attention because she had clearly missed something important. What was Laxus saying? This was not the maternity leave that she was hoping for, not even close.

"I hope to see the face of my first great grandchild as soon as possible so I'll allow it," Makarov replied laughing. Things were starting to fall into place, and Lucy realized with a start that she had not misheard Laxus earlier. He had just told the entire guild, her friends included, that he was planning to marry her. Why hadn't he asked her first? What was this nonsense?! This isn't the middle ages! She fumed.

"We would be honoured if we could hold the wedding here in the guild, surrounded by our nakama," Laxus spoke clearly, and for some reason this was the thing that set Lucy's temper off. He was inviting people to a wedding for her that he hadn't even talked to her about!

"What the hell, Laxus?!" She shrieked. He looked at her, and she couldn't tell if it was just her hormones but it felt he was laughing at her. She was so mad she wanted to hit him three times as hard as she had the other day, and this time he would deserve it. "Excuse me everyone, I need to speak to Laxus for a moment." She ducked out from Laxus' hold and grabbed his wrist, pulling him after her as she prepared to push through the crowd. They parted before her, and it was a relief because she was completely aware that she was not in fact pulling Laxus. He was merely following along and letting her feel like she was pulling him, and this made her angrier. She was so angry that she couldn't see anything any more except her escape route, which was too bad because she missed Juvia dancing with joy at confirmation that Lucy had, in fact, never been after her beloved Grey.

Before she knew it, she had dragged Laxus to her apartment, and she made an attempt to push him at her couch. He made pretend like she was actually strong enough to do so, and her rage swelled again. She narrowed her eyes at him, hoping that her glare was as scary as she meant it to be.

"Laxus Dreyar, what in Earthland are you trying to pull?!" she asked him menacingly.

"You're mad. I thought you might be. Do you hate me that much?" he asked her, and he almost seemed meek for a moment. Almost.

"It's not that, Laxus, and you know it! I'm mad that you did this and you didn't talk to me about it at all!" she fumed. She wanted him to look sorry, but he looked bashful for a moment before disarming her with a smile.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then to my proposal, and I will never do anything like this to you again," he said, taking advantage of her momentary surprise. He moved a stray hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger along her jaw bone before pulling her in towards him and kissing her.


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm having a very difficult time with everything that's happening right now." Lucy sobbed a mere two minutes later. At some point, the pressure had been too much and she had started crying, much to Laxus' surprise. And then he had pulled her so that she was laying across his lap while she held on for dear life and cried into his shoulder. She was starting to feel like a crazy person. She had gotten angry over the wrong thing and somehow being angry broke straight through to crying. Was being so angry that you cried a thing? She wondered as she finally contained herself to a few sniffles here and there. He was stroking her hair with his free hand, and she didn't feel like rejecting him at that moment. She was having a hard time, and this hair thing he was doing was helping. It was the least he could do for making her upset in the first place, she rationalized.

"I meant what I said at the grand magic games. You are my family, so I will look after you." He said when she had finally stopped sniffling. "I – " he started before she put her small hand up to cover his mouth. Looking at her face, he could see that she had stopped crying but she had also closed her eyes.

"No more of that right now. Just let me catch up to everything that's happened and then you can say whatever you want. Stars, I'm just so tired lately," She said, withdrawing her hand from his mouth once he had nodded in assent to her demands. She curled up as best she could and leaned into his shoulder. She couldn't deal with everything that was happening right now, she just needed a nap. She would be angry at him later when she had the energy.

By the time Lucy woke up, the sky was turning orange with the oncoming sunset. She sighed, tempted to go back to sleep if only to put off talking things out a little longer. Her eyes felt puffy, so she supposed that she hadn't washed her face before falling asleep either. If she was going to have a serious discussion, she doubted anyone would take her seriously with the way her face looked right now. She opened one eye, scoping out her room and realizing that she was tucked into her bed. She felt a bit lonely, if only for a split second before she sat up and remembered how she had fallen asleep in the first place. She sat up, looked towards her couch and was surprised to find it empty. There was a note next to her bed though, telling her his house address and to come see him when she was ready to talk. It was somewhat of a relief that she could wash her face now and regain some dignity. No sooner had she stepped out of a relaxing bath when she heard Natsu looking for her.

"Lucy? Are you here?" he called. She idly wondered whether or not he actually wanted her to be there. Did she want to be there? After all, she didn't have answers to any questions he might have. She sighed, pulling on her bathrobe before poking her head out the door.

"Yes, I'm here. I'll be there in a moment." She dried her hair before wandering out in her bathrobe. Her clothes were in the room he occupied anyway. Natsu had Happy along with him, as usual, so she wondered if he would keep the questions light. Then again, Happy might ask the hard questions even if Natsu didn't. The little blue exceed could be a jerk like that sometimes despite his cute appearance. Natsu and Happy were already sitting on her bed, so she sat next to them and leaned back; stretching.

"Hey Lucy, I want to ask you something," Natsu started, and Lucy inwardly sighed.

"Sure, but I have to tell you that I definitely do not have all the answers right now but I will try my best to answer what I can," she said, as she sat up and looked at Natsu. It didn't occur to her until that moment that her blow up at the guild probably looked like a complete confirmation of what Laxus was saying to Natsu considering what she had said to him moments before they had entered the guild that afternoon. What was worse was that she had no way of clearing up that situation right now because she had not had the talk with Laxus that she needed to. Natsu was the closest and yet farthest person to her at the moment. Although she trusted him with her life, she had a secret that she wasn't ready to tell him or anyone yet. She hadn't even said anything to Laxus about it, and he had gone and done such a foolish thing.

"So today at the guild, they said that you were going to marry Laxus." he said almost accusingly.

"I didn't think you knew Laxus that well." Happy chimed in, and Lucy swallowed. She was right about Happy asking the hard questions, not that Natsu had even asked a question.

"About that – " she said, rubbing her temples and praying for strength. "I realize it might sound strange, but I really can't answer that right now. There are some things that I need to confirm with Laxus, so I don't have anything worth saying right now."

"Do you love Laxus?" Natsu pressed on. Lucy rubbed her neck nervously with one hand, and realized that she had forgotten to cover the mark on her neck. She tried to make it seem as natural as possible that she was covering the mark while thinking of an answer for Natsu.

"Honestly? I have no idea."

"Are you marrying him because of the baby then?" Natsu asked, surprising her enough that she stopped holding her hand over her neck and looked at him in surprise.


	9. Chapter 9

"How did you know?" Lucy asked Natsu frankly, although she could figure out what he was going to say faster than he could say it.

"You're not the only pregnant woman in Magnolia," Natsu said pointedly, and it made her laugh. "Your smell changed. That's why I was trying to talk to you earlier."

"Aye, I could smell it too, but I didn't realize what it was." Happy added. She patted Happy's head, wondering if it was true or if he just didn't want to be left out. He was a cat, but whether cats could smell that kind of thing was something Lucy wasn't knowledgeable about.

"Natsu, I was going to tell you, really. I was going to tell all of you today because my ability to take certain missions is limited now. I can still go on missions, but my morning sickness means I can't promise to be around in the mornings," she explained, waving her hands as if she could just wave away everything that had happened that day. Natsu looked surprisingly mad.

"You're not seriously going to be taking missions?" he questioned her. "Is Laxus alright with that?" The tone with which Natsu said this to her annoyed her to no end.

"Laxus is not my master, and neither are you. I'm not broken! I'm just a little more tired than usual right now. Besides, I need the money." Natsu whistled, and she stuck her tongue out at him immaturely and it made Happy laugh.

"That might be true, but I don't think the master will feel that's appropriate." Natsu said, holding back his own laughter.

"Oh shoot, I hadn't thought of that. He might not know. I still don't know exactly what Laxus told him." she said, realizing just how complicated things had become because of a certain lightning dragon slayer mage. "Ugh, stupid Laxus." She pulled her knees up to rest her chin on them, realizing she still had that talk ahead of her.

"I'm sure he was only trying to be helpful to you." Happy reminded her, and she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I'm sure that you're right Happy. Well, I need to go talk to him properly this time. I might as well get going now, otherwise there will be more people tomorrow asking me things that I don't have answers for. Thanks for talking to me guys. I feel a lot better now." Lucy said, standing up and moving to look for some clothing in her dresser.

She nearly jumped when she felt Natsu's hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him, wondering what more there was to say.

"If things don't work out with Laxus, then we'll take care of you. Erza, Grey, Happy, and I all care about you, so don't worry." Tears stung the back of her eyes, and she grasped Natsu in a brief hug. She shook her head and gathered her courage.

"I know. You should know better than anyone that I don't need to be looked after though." she said brightly. Gathering some clothing, she walked into the bathroom to change before she left. When she re-emerged, Natsu and Happy offered to walk her to Laxus' house. She agreed to only letting them walk her part of the way because she was certain that Laxus didn't need Natsu challenging him to fights at home as well as at the guild hall.

She walked the last couple blocks circling back a few times so that her scent was mixed up, just in case Natsu did decide to follow her before finally arriving at the house. She took a deep breath and realized that she wasn't sure what she was going to say to him anymore. She was suddenly feeling quite embarrassed by her own actions, and a sudden shyness crept upon her as she recalled the feel of Laxus' lips against hers. She stood there lamely with her fist in the air, preparing to knock for a few minutes before Laxus opened the door, leaving her to gape like a fish.

"What are you doing out here? Just knock already." he said, ushering her inside and closing the door behind them.

"How did you know I was there?" she asked suspiciously as he turned the locks. It sounded dumb, but it was a start.

"I have windows." Lucy had a brief moment of intellect.

"You... you can smell me, can't you?" she asked, as he made an escape into the living room. Now that she thought about it, there did seem to be some similarities between the dragon slayer magic users, she just hadn't really thought about Laxus as one of them. His refusal to answer spurred her on. She followed him into the kitchen, where he looked at her like a cornered animal. "Tell me the truth: did you smell this pregnancy?" He looked embarrassed, and for some reason she found it a pleasing sight.

"It's not like that, I really didn't know until Porlyusica said what she did. So I found out around the same time that you did."

"Oh really. Well, I'll let that slide for now, because there are more pressing questions that I came here to ask you."

"Of course. Do you want something to eat?" he asked. Though it didn't seem like such a bad thing to offer, she sensed he was trying to get away from her again. Being in charge of the situation for once made Lucy feel quite good.

"No. Maybe later. There are some things we really need to talk about first." She walked into the living room and fell into the worn sofa, crossing her arms. She always felt better in the evenings, sharper and more alert. It probably had a lot to do with not being able to keep her breakfast down and her nap earlier in the day. Laxus reluctantly sat down next to her.

"Okay, what do you want to ask me Lucy?" he asked, sighing.

"What is the plan with this wedding thing?" she asked.

"There isn't really much to it. I just thought we could do it before everyone figures out that you're pregnant," he answered, unsure of what exactly she was asking. She didn't look really pleased with the answer.

"Do you want to marry me, or is this pity?"

"I wouldn't have done all of this if I didn't." Lucy turned a bright red colour before taking a deep breath. She was obviously still not pleased. He couldn't figure out what answer she was looking for. He wondered if she even knew because of the way she was asking.

"Do you – " she cleared her throat and tried again. "Do you love me?". He closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose before fixing his eyes on her once more.

"Yes." Lucy could see that he was completely serious, and it stunned her into silence.


	10. Chapter 10

A short while later, Lucy sat quietly at the small table in Laxus' kitchen. She was pretty sure now that the man didn't ever invite anyone into this house based on the fact that the table was only big enough for two people. She wondered if she would find only two or three cups in his cupboards, like a true bachelor. Based on the cup she had used last time she was here, she surmised that he probably had cups and plates leftover from when his grandfather had lived here. The house was a bit big for one person, she thought, glancing at her surroundings between bites of food. This was the only time of day that she could eat without throwing it back up, so she fully planned on savouring it. It was a simple meal, not much different than what Lucy might make herself, but she was enjoying it anyway. A small cut of beef, some steamed vegetables and a bit of rice. She realized that her plan to slowly enjoy it had gone awry as soon as she finished the last bite and saw that Laxus had only finished eating half his plate and was staring at her. She placed her fork down, too embarrassed to speak.

"Um, do you want more rice?" Laxus asked awkwardly. He had just watched the small blonde mage eat faster than he had thought possible, and it was uncharacteristic of her.

"No..." she answered, looking anywhere but his face. Her stomach growled, disagreeing with her. "No! If I eat more I'll get fat." She was more talking to herself at this point.

"Aren't you supposed to eat more?" Laxus said, trying not to be pushy about it. He had heard that pregnant women usually ate more food than before they were expecting, but he knew she wouldn't respond well if she thought he was telling her what to do. Lucy rested her head on her hand, and came to a very worrisome conclusion.

"Um... this just occurs to me now, but neither of us know anything about pregnancy or babies," Lucy said frowning. She had spent all the first few days of knowing about her pregnancy worrying about money and hadn't spent any time actually studying her condition.

"I'm sure they have books about this. We'll just go buy some tomorrow when I pick up some groceries. I don't keep a lot of food here." Laxus said shrugging. He began eating again. Lucy narrowed her eyes. She hadn't necessarily accepted his marriage proposal, but she didn't have a good reason to turn him down either. She didn't dislike him, and at the very least she admired and respected him. The fact that he had never asked about the paternity of the baby was almost too good to be true, and it made her suspicious. What man would be happy to raise another man's child? She wanted to know so badly what he was thinking. She decided to test the waters.

"When would you want to get married?" she asked cautiously.

"Sometime next week would be best," he answered without missing a beat. He really had thought this all through!

"Next week?" she echoed helplessly. He put down his fork.

"I know that feels pretty sudden, but the dragon slayers are going to know about the baby very soon. That's if they don't already know." he said looking at her with a very clear question in his eyes. She sighed, and shrugged in defeat.

"Yes, Natsu has already figured it out." she confessed. Laxus didn't seem surprised, and she didn't really expect him to be. Natsu finding out first was inescapable. Lucy cursed herself for not telling him to be quiet about it when she had been talking to him earlier. "Hey wait – if we go to buy pregnancy books, aren't we going to be found out fairly quickly? You're pretty well known around town, and Levy knows all the book store owners personally."

"It's fine, I'll just get Evergreen to do it then." Laxus said, picking up his empty plate and moved to take hers. Lucy burst into hysterical laughter, remembering how convinced a certain bar maid was that Evergreen was dating her brother. Oh how funny it would be! Lucy was laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes and she was slapping the table in front of her. Laxus had already taken her plate, and was leaning against the counter staring at her with his arms crossed. "What?"

"That... would be so funny!" Lucy managed, finally managing to catch her breath. The realization that Laxus had no clue what she was laughing at almost made her lose her control again, so she covered her mouth and tried to hide the fact that she was still giggling.

"So I guess I shouldn't ask her then." Laxus said, raising an eyebrow. Lucy managed to suck in enough air to reply.

"No! Do it! Do it, please! I'll consider it my wedding present." Lucy continued laughing for such a long time that Laxus had time to rinse, wash, dry and put away the dinner dishes before she managed to stop.

"Okay, this lack of oxygen cannot be good for the baby." He picked her up from her chair and carried her into the living room so that he could drop her on the couch. From the moment that he had lifted her from the chair, she had stopped laughing. She looked up at him from her space on the couch, almost sad.

"Laxus, is it really okay? Do you really want to raise this child with me? I would understand..." she trailed off. He swiftly knelt in front of her and held her so that the side of his face was gently resting over her stomach. She looked no different than normal, so it was almost difficult to believe that she was pregnant but he could smell it on her skin and it comforted him.

"If you will let me build a family with you, I would give you anything." Lucy felt her face heating up and her heart beating faster. A small part of her thought about how beautiful this sentence was, and how wonderful it was to imagine having family again. However, his love was overwhelming and she couldn't feel like she deserved it. She ran one of her hands through his hair on impulse, and decided firmly how she needed to spend the next week. She would become worthy the only way she knew how: she was going to solve the mystery of that night and tell him whatever truth she found. If he could still accept her then, she would let herself love him.


	11. Chapter 11

"A bowl of rice would be sufficient for now," Lucy said realizing that her hunger was not going away. Laxus withdrew, and she let her hand fall onto her lap. She stood and followed him back into the kitchen, wondering how much she should eat. Until she had some sort of guide, she wasn't quite sure what to do. If she thought logically, it was entirely possible that she was only hungry because she never managed to keep her breakfasts down. Then eating extra calories at dinner wasn't a big deal. If possible, she'd like to not gain any weight before her theoretical wedding (should everything go well). She didn't realize that she had already eaten the rice until Laxus spoke.

"I can make more if you're still hungry," he offered. She looked down, and saw that she was holding an empty bowl and a spoon. How much had she just eaten?! She set it aside, and decided that the mystery of the empty bowl was not the most important thing right now.

"No, that was enough. Thanks. I'll head back home now, and we can meet up for dinner again." Lucy said, standing. She was surprised by Laxus moving to stand behind her before wrapping his arms around her. Lucy felt her body react by relaxing into him, and she wondered why it never felt new or unusual to be embraced by him.

"Stay for tonight." he requested quietly. Although she really did need to start her investigation, she supposed letting him spoil her for one night wouldn't be so bad. What did it matter where she spent her morning anyway? This toilet, that toilet, whichever bathroom it was she wasn't going to be able to get any information during those hours.

"Well, maybe just for tonight. I do have to go home eventually if only to get my things." she warned him.

"Fine." he agreed, scooping her up bridal style. She bristled a bit and wondered why Laxus had such a preoccupation with carrying her around. She wasn't going to run away, she thought as he carried her up a set of stairs that she hadn't seen before.

"You have a bathroom on the second floor, right?" she asked.

"Yes. Why?" he asked as he carried her through one of the doorways.

"Oh, you know. The joys of making another human being can be really rough in the morning." She joked.

"Ah. While I think it's good that you want to know more about our house, I think you should concentrate a little more on the present." He replied while setting her down on her feet. It finally registered for Lucy that she was standing in Laxus Dreyar's bedroom and her cheeks warmed considerably. The furniture was all new, and she could guess why. There was a queen size bed with a convenient shelving built into the backboard and under the bed, though she was distracted by the bed sheets. For some reason she had expected them to be black silk or leopard print, but they were instead a vibrant royal blue and looked like cotton. It certainly looked like nice cotton, but she'd never seen Laxus wear blue so she had no idea that he even knew the colour existed. He also had a black night stand that matched the bed frame and a window covered by black curtains. He probably used them to block the light so he could sleep in after long missions she mused. Moreover, he had called it 'our' house as if it was already settled.

She almost jumped when she felt him run his hands down her arms, and realized that as much as she wanted Laxus to make love to her, it would feel too deceitful. She already felt guilty as it was, this would just make the burden worse. That's what she was thinking anyway, when she turned to face him. His eyes weren't grey, and they weren't blue either. They were a dark mix somewhere in between, and there was a ring of brown around his midnight black pupils. How beautifully complex, she thought, placing her arms around his neck so she could pull him down for a kiss. He lifted her up, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist to stabilize herself. He broke away from the kiss first, only to initiate a deeper one. Lucy ran her hands through his hair, deciding that this much was probably fine. Their tongues were dancing, and it amazed her at how everything felt so natural with Laxus. She broke away for air, and began placing kisses across his jaw and eventually along the lightning scar over his right eye. She wanted to imprint his face and body into her mind for the rest of time, just in case. His muscled shoulders were hard and showed tiny white scars from healed wounds. She began to trace her fingers along his tattoo when she realized that he had somehow removed his shirt without her noticing. She rubbed her cheek against his, kissing his earlobe. He was matching her slow pace, dragging his tongue enticingly along the area between her neck and shoulder.

He moved them to the bed she had been previously admiring, and planted his lips firmly on hers. She tightened her grip on him, forgetting that her legs were still wrapped around his waist. Though she was on the bed, he was holding himself slightly above her. She'd been trying to close the space between them using her arms and legs when she felt something distinctly hard where their bodies met. She moaned softly, pressing herself as close to him as she could get. He pressed his nose into her jawline, and his tongue was making a trail down her neck. He was about to reach the scar, she realized, and unlocked her arms from around his neck to push at his chest.

"Laxus wait." she breathed, and he lifted his head so that she could see his face again.

"For what?" he drawled, then kissed her nose. Lucy realized that she had to come up with a really good answer to that.

"Can we wait until we're married to go any further than this?" she asked, painfully aware that she was the one with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist. Based on how affected she was by him at the moment, she realized how difficult this was going to be for her.

"What's one week?" he said, laying her on the bed and unhooking her ankles from around his waist. He moved to the drawers below the bed and retrieved a large purple shirt. He handed it to her before disappearing into an ensuite bathroom she hadn't noticed before. Once he closed the door, she realized that she was supposed to wear the shirt. She stripped out of her clothes and pulled the button up shirt over her head. It was way too big, so she folded the sleeves up a bit before diving into the bed and pulling the sheets over herself. Laxus was so much stronger than she was. She needed to find her answers fast, because a whole week of this was going to drive her insane.


	12. Chapter 12

Lucy wondered at what point she had become the biggest pervert in Fairy Tail. She had immense difficulty trying to sleep the entire night, and envied Laxus' immense self control. Although it had been relaxing, being spooned by her theoretical fiancee, he didn't wear a shirt to bed. Based on the fact that he was wearing the same pants as earlier in the day, she surmised that the man probably didn't own pyjamas. When she'd woken up, she could hear the shower running and had restrained herself from looking in on him. What kept her away was the fact that she was certain he'd notice her, and the fact that she was already feeling nauseous. As she had anticipated, she did indeed spend her morning in the bathroom. She congratulated herself on managing her nausea until Laxus was actually done with it. This gave her the opportunity to lock it behind her. He'd tried to be helpful, but she really didn't want him to see her sick quite yet. In her own way, she was trying to preserve the romance. It had been an uphill battle to convince him to leave for the guild before her and that she'd meet him there later, but she'd used his pity against him.

When she had emerged from the bathroom an hour or so later, she had her plan ready. Although she could ask Grey or Natsu directly, she worried that they wouldn't tell her the truth out of embarrassment or fear of Laxus' wrath. The second problem was that her investigation had to be sneaky, because she didn't want anyone to figure out what she was up to. She came up with a genius plan while staring at the key Laxus had left her on the kitchen table. The best way to investigate that forgotten night was most definitely to interview her guild mates, and she could use her wedding as the perfect guise for her questions. She'd have to get creative with her questions, but she was a writer. Being creative wasn't going to be a problem.

Lucy had figured Laxus would be well known within the town, but she didn't realize how well liked he was until she spent a good portion of her walk to the guild thanking the town people for their congratulations as she passed. How did the news spread so fast? When she had finally arrived at the guild, she could see that everyone was celebrating their engagement and Laxus looked embarrassed by all the attention. She fully understood the embarrassment when certain guild members started whistling the bridal march as she entered the hall.

"Stop it! You guys are so embarrassing!" she admonished. She stomped the rest of the way to where Laxus was pretending to be nonchalant.

"Lucy." he greeted her neutrally. When Cana started drunkenly jeering at them to kiss, Lucy understood what he was trying to convey to her. She shot a quick glare in Cana's direction before answering.

"Laxus, I need to do some things today. Could we meet up here around four thirty? We can go shopping then."

"Alright. I'll see you then." He agreed. She couldn't help but smile at him then, and gave him a quick hug before making her escape from the guild hall.

"Later!" she said, leaving the guild. Lucy turned in the direction of her apartment, and wasn't surprised by the sound of Natsu falling into step beside her.

"So did you talk to Laxus about going on missions yet?" Natsu asked as they walked.

"Oh. Not yet. I'm kind of wrapped up in something else right now." she dismissed, though he had an excellent point. She really did need to talk to Laxus about that soon. She doubted that either she or Laxus would have time to take missions in the next week, but it was certainly something that needed to be addressed.

"Like what?" Natsu asked innocently. "Can I help?"

"Maybe you can." Lucy answered slowly. "I'm planning the wedding, so I need to gather some information about successful parties we've had at the guild before. What do you think?"

"That's a really good idea." the pink haired mage answered.

"Of course it's a good idea!" Lucy said, smacking his arm playfully. "Now, do you remember the party we had when we returned from Tenrou island? I'm a bit fuzzy on the details of that one, so I was hoping you might help me gather some information."

"Mira would be the person to talk to about parties. If you ask nicely, she might plan the whole thing for you." he suggested. They arrived at her apartment a few minutes later while talking over trivial party planning topics, and Lucy sat at her desk. She pulled out a blank piece of paper out and drew a long line down the middle vertically. She drew a perpendicular horizontal line at both ends of the first line, and her chart representing the time line of the party was started. She wrote at the top what song she could remember Gajeel playing, and at the bottom she just wrote the word 'home' to signify that she was at home. Turning the sheet over, she started to write down the names of specific guild members she would need to talk to. If she was as lucky as her name implied, the more important ones wouldn't be on missions. She took some extra sheets of paper, clipped them to a board and stood up. Natsu stopped doing stomach crunches on the floor next to her, and jumped to attention.

"Okay Natsu, tell me what was the best parts of that party. What was the most fun part of the night to you?" Lucy said, pen and paper ready. Before he could speak, she added: "In chronological order would be best." Natsu frowned in concentration, trying to remember anything that might be good for a wedding.

"To be honest, Luce, I didn't have a lot of fun that night..."

"What? Why?" she asked, surprised. A strange look passed over his face, and she felt instinctively that he knew more than he was about to say. She momentarily felt insulted that he could describe that night with such distaste. She had figured it was slightly more likely that Natsu had slept with her based on how deep the bite in her neck was, but if he was going to recall that day so unhappily then she wanted to write him off entirely. It couldn't have been that bad. Unless she threw up on him. That was a distinct possibility she thought, embarrassed.

"Oh, it's nothing important. There was dancing at the beginning of the night. That could be fun to do again," Natsu said, verbally sidestepping her question.

"You can dance?" Lucy asked surprised.

"I can, and I almost kicked Grey's ass too!" Natsu declared proudly.


	13. Chapter 13

"Liar!" Grey yelled, pointing accusingly at Natsu. Lucy nearly dropped the pen and papers she was holding when she realized that Grey was climbing in through her window. Ah, she thought, so they're using the window. Lucy had mistakenly thought that having an apartment on such a high floor would negate the need for having locks on the windows, but she was clearly wrong. There weren't even balconies to climb up, so she couldn't fathom how some nakama were getting up there in the first place. Happy could carry Natsu up with his wings, and Grey could make an ice tower, but this did not explain how Erza had made it in. She dearly hoped that Erza had just asked the landlady and used the door. However, she only seemed more normal compared to these two, so Lucy was certain she had her own strange way of getting in.

Lucy cleared her throat, somehow managing to get the attention of the two men before they trashed her apartment over another trivial argument.

"Okay Grey, why don't you tell me what parts of the return from Tenrou party that you liked the best?" Lucy asked as the ice mage took a seat on her bed. Grey scratched his chin thoughtfully, and Lucy examined his face for any unusual expressions.

"It all seemed just okay to me. I can tell you what I didn't like though. Evergreen tried to take my necklace as part of one of Mira's silly games." As far as Lucy could tell, Grey wasn't keeping anything from her, but he also wasn't as forthright as Natsu so it wasn't fair to automatically accuse either without some evidence.

"Mira's scavenger hunt," Lucy said, mostly to herself. She did recall now that she had talked a bit to Mira about it. "when did that take place? How long does a game like that take?".

"Mira doesn't put a time limit on it because she makes it really difficult. It lasts for most of the party. I don't think you want that game at your wedding though." Natsu answered.

"We could just make the items easier than Grey's necklace, and everyone would be informed ahead of time." Lucy commented dryly. The two men shook their heads simultaneously.

"It's not just the items that makes the game difficult -" Grey started.

"The participants are all required to have had a minimum number of alcoholic beverages in order to play. That's why I said you won't want to play it at the wedding." Natsu cut him off. Lucy raised her eyebrows at this, and wrote beside Mira's name the words drunken scavenger hunt followed by a question mark. She rubbed her chin, and surmised that the scavenger hunt was likely the reason that she couldn't remember that night.

"We obviously wouldn't have that rule. We can play the scavenger hunt with different rules. For example, are all the items personal like Grey's necklace?" she asked, trying to keep her questions relevant.

"Mira writes the lists out the night of the party. She likes to include easy items like people's shoes, a few more difficult items, and most importantly: one very difficult item. My necklace was probably Evergreen's most difficult item," Grey explained. Lucy sensed Natsu watching her carefully, and she knew that she needed to steer the conversation in a different direction or risk giving herself away. Natsu may not have been intelligent by educational standards, but he was quite good at reading people. He was especially good at reading Lucy, and that was the entire reason she had invited him to help her. It would have been far more suspicious if she'd not included him at all.

"Alright, alright. So far we have dancing as something that people like. For the rest of the list, I'm going to head to the guild and ask more people there." Lucy said, finishing off a few more notes about the scavenger hunt before packing her papers and pen into a bag. She had really wanted to ask more about the scavenger hunt, but decided that she'd best ask Mira or Evergreen instead. She looked between the two men, and silently wondered what their opposing attitudes meant. Natsu was most clearly hiding something from her, but Grey didn't seem to have any worries. It was too easy to assume guilt on the part of Natsu, so she reminded herself that there were other possibilities for his secretiveness. It was very possible that Natsu was protecting Grey, and that Grey had no memories of the event either. "Come with me, I don't want you hanging around my apartment all day."

"Oh! That's why I came here – Levy wants to talk to you." Grey said, standing. He was courteous enough to close her window before they all left using the front door. Lucy sighed, thinking how difficult it would be to pass off a child of either mage as belonging to her and Laxus. That was if Laxus even still wanted to stay by her side. She banished the thought from her mind, and focused on the facts that she had so far.

When she arrived at the guild, she asked Levy if they could chat after she did some things. Levy hesitantly agreed. She made her way to where Mira was tending the bar, and sat on one of the stools. Lucy realized that it was nearly lunch time and that she needed to hurry with questioning people before she missed the more important people on her list. When she finally caught Mira's attention, Lucy noticed that the white haired woman was overflowing with happiness. Lucy didn't think she'd be that happy about her engagement, but realized it had nothing to do with her when the woman didn't immediately ask her about it.

"Hey Mira, do you have any soup or something like that?" Lucy asked the older woman who had yet to return from whatever world she was inhabiting. Mira giggled about something, and didn't even answer her question before setting a bowl of carrot soup in front of her. Lucy shrugged and started to eat. "What's going on with you?" Lucy had initially planned to ask Mira questions while she ate lunch so that she could multitask but she needed to pull the woman back to reality first.

"Oh, it's nothing." Mira sighed. Her expression indicated otherwise, and Lucy wondered whether she should just try talking to Mira tomorrow instead. Glancing around, she counted which guild members were still present and was happy that most of the people she needed to talk to were there. Lucy saw Bickslow sitting two stools to the right of her, and remembered that she should ask Evergreen about the scavenger hunt.

"Hey Bickslow, is Evergreen here?" she asked between sips. Bickslow might have been surprised that she'd asked, but she couldn't tell under his mask. It was very unusual that the thunder god tribe was split up, so Lucy figured he would probably know where Evergreen was. At the mention of Evergreen's name, Lucy heard Mira squeal while dancing behind the bar.

"She went out to run some errands and do some shopping. I don't know why she isn't back yet." he replied. Lucy immediately dropped her spoon onto the bar and began laughing so hard that she even shocked Mira out of her stupor. When Mira looking at her, she began laughing harder and she was definitely glad that she hadn't been eating when Bickslow had replied.


	14. Chapter 14

Lucy had only managed to contain herself when she realized that she was genuinely starting to worry the people around her. Bickslow had eventually joined in, and it did not give her much credibility. She shared a knowing glance with him, realizing he was clearly informed enough to understand. It annoyed her a bit that Laxus had seen fit to tell his friends before she'd told hers, but she would address that later. She didn't exactly feel like she had the right to be angry at him quite yet. Besides the surprise engagement, he theoretically hadn't done anything wrong.

"Hey Mira," Lucy said, now that she had the bar maid's attention. "do you still have the item lists from the scavenger hunt we played three or so months ago?" Mira thought about it, and then began sorting through some very questionable looking papers stashed on a shelf behind the bar. Lucy realized with some horror that the cleaner pages on the top were definitely new games, and hoped the heavens would have mercy on whomever got roped in.

"Aha!" Mira said, victorious in her search. "I kept them because you never came back even though you were so close to finishing yours. Why do you want them?" Mira was holding the papers not even a foot from her, and it took every fiber of focus Lucy had to nonchalantly sip her carrot soup instead of grabbing them.

"I was thinking it would be good inspiration for my wedding games but I don't remember it very well. Do you check off the items that people get?" Lucy said, aware that Bickslow had stopped laughing and was watching her. She suspected that Bickslow might be next on her list of witnesses to talk to, though she really would have preferred Evergreen. Mira placed the papers in front of her, and she gripped her spoon more tightly to keep from grabbing them immediately.

"Oh, sure. Here they are. I guess it's fine to give these to you since I try to avoid repeats. I checked some of the lists for whatever reason. I usually don't." Mira turned away, and Lucy tried to make her movements look casual as she picked up the papers in her hand. She noticed that almost all of the items on her list were checked off and whistled. Mira hadn't been kidding when she'd said that Lucy was close to winning. She didn't get a chance to actually read any further when Levy took a seat next to her at the bar.

"Lucy, I was wondering if I could show you a book in the guild library." Lucy knew the blue haired mage well enough to see that she had something more interesting to say and didn't want to say it here.

"Sure. Let's go." Lucy said, getting ready to stand from her stool. She was packing the scavenger hunt papers into her bag when Bickslow spoke up.

"You should finish your soup."

"It's delicious! Nutritious!" his dolls chimed in, and she rolled her eyes. Oh, Laxus had definitely told his friends, and she was going to talk to him about this later.

"Fine." Lucy said, tipping the bowl to her mouth to quickly drink the rest. Stars! She was already tired of the concern from the few people who knew about her pregnancy. She didn't even want to imagine what the guild was going to be like when they figured it out. She left to the guild library happily, as she had attracted too much attention already. The library was empty, but even so, Levy took the time to seal it closed and wrote a script so that whatever they said wouldn't be heard. It was around this point that Lucy realized that her small friend really meant business. Did Levy know something about that night? Lucy remained patient for exactly three minutes while sitting across from Levy while she opened and closed her mouth like a fish. She was blushing, so the topic was obviously embarrassing for her.

"What is it Levy? It must be pretty important for you to take all these precautions." Lucy asked, hoping to prod the truth out of her friend.

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about, precautions." Levy said, looking anywhere but at Lucy.

"What?" Lucy honestly had no idea what she was trying to imply. Levy cleared her throat, and steeled her face into a serious expression.

"I have to tell you this because you're marrying Laxus, and he uses dragon slayer magic." She began. Lucy listened enraptured. "The truth is, that there is one thing you mustn't let him do or else..." Levy trailed off, the blush creeping back over her face.

"Or else?" Lucy asked, now even more curious what Levy was trying to tell her. Levy looked at the floor with a very concentrated expression.

"If he bites you while you're um... intimate, the dragon slayer magic in him will enter your body and... and... and you'll get pregnant! So you can't let him bite you unless you're prepared for that." Levy had turned quite red while she said this, and Lucy was beginning to match her. Levy was giving her a sex talk?

"I don't understand." Lucy said, staring dumbly at Levy.

"Well you see dragons bite their mate as a trigger for them to lay eggs and the thing about dragon slayers is that their magic will make their partner unnaturally fertile and I only know this because I read about it!" Levy rushed out the words without taking a breath. The blue haired girl finally raised her head to examine Lucy's reaction and found her still staring back blankly.

"Sorry, what?" the blond said, though she had clearly heard her based on the colour of her face.

"You don't have to worry about it usually, it only happens if that person's mating instinct triggers and they go into heat." Levy said, and Lucy was finding it harder and harder to believe that Levy had researched this just for fun.

"Levy, I need to ask you something really important. I know it'll be hard to remember, but please try." Lucy breathed, as the shock washed away. She didn't want to believe this. Natsu was her best friend, why would he do this and not say anything? She just couldn't fathom Natsu keeping something so important from her.

"Levy, what do you remember about that party we had when we got back from Tenrou island?"

Lucy could feel it deep in her soul that she was missing a critical piece of information, and she needed it more than ever.


	15. Chapter 15

Lucy was furiously jotting down notes from Levy's account of the Tenrou party as she spoke, deciding that she didn't need to keep up pretences with her friend. Her friend had certainly taken the time and effort to speak to her about something that was really difficult, so it was easy for Lucy to stop pretending that this was for the wedding. She hadn't told Levy anything yet, since she was too busy asking Levy questions. While she was writing away the notes about her locations throughout the night and cross examining them with Natsu's, she realized exactly what she had found so odd about the whole thing.

"Levy, about that thing before. - how can you tell when a dragon slayer has gone into heat?" Lucy asked. Levy nearly laughed, but pretended to cough when she realized that Lucy was serious.

"It's not hard to tell at all. Dragons are not subtle creatures. I mean, they tend to stick really close to their mate while they're in heat. They can even have problems controlling their magic. In most cases they'll imitate dragon behaviour as close as possible. The only time they'll go out of heat early is if ... well, if their mating was a success." Levy said, blinking rapidly to try and cover her embarrassment. Lucy crossed her legs, and leaned over while examining her friend.

"Oh really? Why did you research all of this, anyway?" she asked the blushing mage. Levy chose to continue talking about her research rather than answer the question.

"Well, when a dragon is mated, they will tend to stay close together so it's not like that for Gajeel... but I haven't even talked to him about things like that so it doesn't mean anything!" Lucy tilted her head to the side, and felt that annoying feeling again. Something was ringing bells with her, but it wasn't Natsu. For one, Natsu had gone on a mission with Grey and although he liked to sleep at her house, they didn't spend all their time together. Furthermore, Natsu had asked her whether Laxus was okay with her taking on missions. It was such an odd thing for him to say.

Lucy packed away her papers in a daze. She had an idea of where this was going, but it was too strange to be true. She just had to check one very important thing, and then she would have enough evidence to speak to Laxus. Levy had tried to be helpful by providing Lucy with the books that she had referenced for her research, which led to an afternoon of her flipping through them. She knew that the information was important, but by the third time she had read the same page she stopped trying. She had spent most of the time flipping the pages absentmindedly while trying to organize her thoughts. She wasn't aware enough to notice Levy leave, or when someone else entered.

"Dragon magic, huh?" Evergreen drawled, reading the title of the book in her hands. As Lucy turned to look at her, the older woman's face softened. She smiled sadly before shrugging. "Laxus is looking for you. I came here to tell you off for what you did, but I can see this isn't the right time."

"Right, sorry about that." Lucy said, pursing her lips. "I just needed a good laugh." Lucy stood from the chair and stretched out her sore muscles. She left the books on the table, planning to read them another day. She moved to leave when Ever green surprised her.

"Don't be too hard on him, okay?" Evergreen said quietly as Lucy passed her. It took Lucy a few minutes to even absorb the words, by which time she was out in the main section of the guild hall.

"Lucy, are you ready to leave yet?" Laxus asked. She wanted to ask him so many questions, but he looked so happy to see her. Lucy shook her head before she returned his smile.

"Yeah, let's go!" She said while taking his arm. What she needed to say was best left for when they were alone. She managed to latch onto his surprising enthusiasm while picking up a few essential groceries, and it was apparent that he'd already read some of the books that poor Evergreen had been forced to buy. It wasn't that Lucy didn't appreciate greens, but she had no idea what kale was and she doubted he did either. She managed to pay attention long enough to get some fruit and strawberry milk for herself.

When they'd reached his home, she excused herself upstairs while Laxus put away the food and began an attempt at cooking some of them into a palatable meal. Once Lucy had reached his bedroom, she closed the door behind her. She listened at the door carefully to make sure he hadn't followed before she went all out. She started pulling open all the drawers open that she could see. Then she realized that there was a closet that she had missed entirely. She opened the door cautiously and was surprised to find a dresser in there too. Surrounded by Laxus' coats and sweaters, she pulled each drawer open. She found some pretty strange things like old jewelry and handkerchiefs that probably had belonged to Laxus' mother, and she felt guilty for going through these things without asking Laxus first. She found what she was looking for in the second last drawer, and she sighed. She carefully lifted Laxus' headphones out of the drawer, tracing her fingers along the odd spikes that decorated them. This set of headphones was the one thing on her scavenger hunt list that was probably supposed to be her 'very difficult' item. Yes, she supposed working up the courage to not only speak to Laxus but also ask to borrow something should have been difficult. Mira was a crazy genius, Lucy decided. She had been trying to give Laxus an opportunity to properly apologize to her for the battle of Fairy Tail and to recognize him as a nakama again. She absentmindedly put the head phones around her neck and was surprised at how familiar they felt. Something was starting to come together in her mind.

Lucy pulled open the last drawer, and widened her eyes at the contents. The drawer was empty except for two things: a small jewelry box and her missing panties. She didn't know whether to be relieved or not that they were washed and folded.

"Lucy, how do you cook kale?" Laxus surprised her by opening the bedroom door and walking in at that moment. She jumped, and she was certain she looked ridiculous standing halfway in his closet wearing his headphones around her neck and holding her own panties. She blinked, thinking this felt awfully familiar. No! Something like this had definitely happened before. Her eyes softened slightly as she met his eyes.

"Laxus... my Laxus."


	16. Chapter 16

It all came back to Lucy, and she realized that so much more had happened that night than she could have guessed. The guild hall had been full, almost to the bursting point, since Fairy Tail had moved to a smaller building while they were sealed in Tenrou island with the first master, but it was just as active as usual. There was a wonderful feeling of joy in the air, and Lucy was personally warmed by the feeling of finally coming home. Their now older guild mates had changed, but not enough to disturb the emotional charge in the air. Beyond that, there was also a sadness inside Lucy, making the reunion bittersweet. Lucy's heart clenched so painfully that she gripped the table until the moment passed. Although she had recognized Fairy Tail as family, she had also never planned on missing the rest of her father's life either. They were supposed to have time to get to know each other again and become friends. That was what was supposed to happen. She was surprised out of her moment when she felt Natsu's warm hand on her arm.

"Lucy, let's dance!" he exclaimed happily. She blinked, releasing her hold on the table and readjusting to the scene around her. She could see Grey aggressively swinging around a very happy and slightly dizzy Juvia and quickly put together that the two mages were in competition again. Lucy jumped up, eager to reclaim her earlier positive emotions.

"Let's do it!" she proclaimed a little too seriously. As she felt Natsu pull her away, she suddenly realized that she'd never seen Natsu dance and had a very foreboding feeling. As he began to 'dance' with her, Lucy realized that he was no better than Grey and that she had unknowingly agreed to become Natsu's projectile object. Although it was hilarious for the first minute or so, she was starting to understand why Juvia had started to resemble a paper doll, wilting in Grey's arms while holding on for dear life. Grey and Natsu apparently decided to up their game despite their sagging dance partners, and Lucy felt herself go skyward a few times. She had to admit that it gave her a great view of the guild, but that she really couldn't enjoy it because she was starting to feel motion sick. She congratulated herself for getting this far without throwing up on anyone, but she needed to escape – and the sooner the better. Just as she had firmly decided this, she felt herself go higher up into the air than before and went pale as she realized that Natsu had tripped onto his face.

"Natsu!" she half screamed, still trying to get the better of her motion sickness. Her fears were unfounded, as she landed safely. Instinctively, she snaked her arms around him to hold on tighter and vaguely realized that this person was not Natsu. His neck and arms were too thick, and she felt tiny within them. She let out a breath of relief and took the moment to master her motion sickness. The person was nicely stationary, and it took her a moment for her vision to focus. She finally managed to look at the person who had caught her and then her recently regained breath immediately left her. Laxus was focused on Natsu, an annoyed look on his face, but he sensed that she had regained her senses and carefully set her back on her feet in such a way that he was standing between her and Natsu.

"You brats, stop making such a mess in the guild!" he admonished, as Lucy stared on at his wide back. She wondered what it would be like if he looked at her. Since Laxus had come to their rescue on Tenrou island, Lucy had slowly stopped fearing him because he seemed like a totally different person than before. He seemed almost kinder. Before she had a chance to think about this further, her name was called.

"Lucy, over here!" Mira called her over to the bar where some of the female mages had gathered. Lucy walked over, greeting them individually. "Do you want to play some games with us?" Mira's question was innocent enough, though her devilish expression betrayed her.

"Yeah, let's do a drinking contest!" Cana chimed in, while Levy slowly backed away. The blue haired mage clearly had a better sense of survival than she did, Lucy mused. Lucy was about to turn them down, when she felt something akin to electricity running down her back. She shivered, and turned only her head to see what was happening and her gaze connected with Laxus'. She felt incredibly self conscious as she remembered the feel of his arms around her. Sensing Mira's ever attentive eyes on her, and tore her gaze away to turn back to her friends. She could still feel his eyes on her back though, and she felt her cheeks heat up. Mira had poured something out and was holding it so close that Lucy surmised that she could grab it and she did. She drank the whole thing, hoping to cover her reactions to Laxus' attention. Whatever it was, it was potent and burned her throat a bit. She felt a little buzzed because she drank it so quickly.

"I'll play!" she said, slamming down the empty cup. Mira and Cana looked delighted, while Evergreen and some others said something about not taking it easy on her because it was her first time playing. The games combined with the drinking were enough to make her completely forget why she had needed the distraction in the first place, so by the time they had rolled around to the scavenger hunt, Lucy was feeling brave.

"Okay Lucy, here's your list," Mira said, pushing a piece of paper across to her. Lucy skimmed through her list, and decided that this she was going to win this game for sure. "You can't use magic, and you must turn these items in to me for it to count." Lucy groaned inwardly, well that was going to make this more difficult. She really wanted the win this time though, so she would have to figure out how to be sneaky about the more difficult ones. She started with the easier items on the list, including Macao's coat and Levy's headband before moving onto the more difficult ones such as Freed's left boot (she wondered if someone else had been assigned the right one). Freed was initially resistant, but eventually gave it to her despite the fact that she was beginning to look ridiculous running around in Macao's coat and Bisca's hat. She hurried back to Mira, realizing that she was going to need to dump some of these things if she was going to get her next item.

"Well, I don't normally let people turn things in until the list is complete, but your next item is a difficult one so I'll allow it." Mira said, taking the items and setting them aside. "Good luck Lucy!".


	17. Chapter 17 (explicit content)

Lucy ran looking for her next target and couldn't see him in the main rooms. She was so close to winning, where had he gone off to?

She stomped back to Freed.

"Where's Laxus?" she asked, staring at him with her best tough impression. Freed pursed his lips and she feared she'd have to get tougher when Bickslow spoke.

"He's in the store room in the back. Just go down that hall way over there." he said mischievously. Freed looked momentarily surprised.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" the green haired mage asked as they watched the clearly intoxicated blonde run down the hall.

"It'll be more interesting this way." Freed was less than impressed with this explanation and was tempted to go after her and turn her around when he realized that she had just closed the door to the store room behind her.

Lucy entered the store room and wondered why the lights weren't on.

"Laxus? Are you here?" Lucy called, and the lights in the room flickered to life for a brief moment, powered by his electrical magic. Lucy huffed in irritation, she had no idea that Laxus was going to hide and make this more difficult for her. She started to move through the room, trying not to knock anything over.

"No, I'm not here, just go already!" she heard him grunt from somewhere nearby. She giggled, as that was the lamest thing she had ever heard Laxus say. The lights flickered again, and she found him easily. He had his eyes closed, and he was sitting in an empty corner. She approached as quietly as a drunken person could and observed that the air around him was full of static and that he seemed to be concentrating on his breathing. She wondered if Mira had tipped him off, and this thought irked her. She knelt beside his long legs, and looked around him as best she could but it was hard to see in the darkness.

"Laxus, I need your headphones to save the world." she said with the seriousness that only a drunken person could muster. He didn't respond, but he knew she was there so she boldly moved toward him and her arms had barely brushed against the back of his neck in her search when he spoke.

"Please, take them and go!" he begged. He pulled them out of the pocket of his coat, and put them down in front of her without opening his eyes. She smiled brightly. She didn't know what was going on with him, but with these headphones, her victory was assured.

"Thanks Laxus," she answered brightly, picking them up and putting them around her neck for convenience. He seemed to be having a difficult time with whatever he was doing, and the fact that he had helped her anyway made her feel unusually sentimental. She decided to reward him for being such a good sport, and leaned in to place a brief chaste kiss on his cheek but her movements surprised him. His movement made it so that she was kissing him on his lips, and from that moment on Lucy realized that she had made a big mistake. She could sense his struggle, but the feelings that were running through her were more powerful than her already diminished rational thought. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed harder against his lips as the electric feeling from earlier returned even stronger. The moment she did so, she felt him pull her into his lap to deepen the kiss. It wasn't enough, and Lucy began rubbing her hands along his broad shoulders and cursed the fact that he was wearing that stupid sleeveless turtleneck thing. She wanted to melt away the layers between them. She had to withdraw her arms from around his neck, sliding her hands down his sides before she found the hem of the shirt and slipped her hands beneath it. She felt him gasp into her mouth as her hands explored while simultaneously pulling the shirt up and out of the way. The feeling of his bare skin on her hands was divine, and she suddenly needed more of it. She broke the kiss and their contact by pushing against his bare chest. He relaxed his grip so she could lean back and pull her dress and the forgotten headphones over her head, leaving in her underwear. She was about to reach back to fumble her bra clasp open when she felt him move to do it for her. She didn't have much time to think about it when she felt him kissing her along her jaw line. She lengthened, trying to absorb the sensation as much as she could and forgot about her bra entirely until she felt him manipulating her arms to remove it.

She groaned as she finally had her direct skin contact, and the warmth it created between her legs reminded her that they were still separated by clothing. She had begun reaching down when he took one of her sensitive nipples into his mouth. The intensity of the pleasure took her so much by surprise that she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold on. He adjusted his hold on her, supporting her arching back against one arm while he used the other to rub circles into the skin above the line of her panties. She took a deep breath and ground her hips down, connecting her heat with the bulge in his pants and he gasped. He stopped his ministrations to separate them and begin tracing along her lips through her panties. She whimpered something that sounded like please, and he obliged by rubbing with more force towards her clitoris. He released her breasts as she pressed against him and he started nuzzling her neck gently.

She was holding tightly onto him, pushing against against his fingers in frustration before he finally manoeuvred one of his fingers underneath the fabric keeping them apart and inserting it into her slick folds. Her breath hitched as he began a slow rhythm that was driving her insane. His heavy breath against her neck was adding to it and she almost cried out when he added a second finger while speeding up. She felt herself tightening around his fingers, and buried her hands into his hair when she finally climaxed. She was too weak to fight back when she suddenly felt him push her away. She barely managed to catch herself, her chest still heaving with her quick breaths. His eyes were open, and she almost moved to close the distance between them when he spoke.

"Lucy please," he grunted. "You have to run. I can't stop myself. Please..." he said the last word with what seemed like the last of his power, and she reacted with an angry quirk to her features. The dark look on her face was almost frightening, as she managed to bore into his eyes.

"No," she said huskily slowly moving toward him on hands and knees with the grace of a black panther. He felt himself shiver in response. "you're mine Laxus." And with that, she was upon him again.

For Lucy, everything was fitting together and she finally understood why she had been feeling strange earlier that night underneath Laxus' deep gaze. There were two simple truths that she had somehow managed to gloss over before the touch of his hands and the feel of static in the air had reminded her of these basic truths. Firstly, Laxus was hers. She ran her hands along his body, etching its dimensions in her mind, and feeling her possession stronger than ever. Laxus Dreyar was hers, and she shivered with the pleasure of acknowledging it. As the pair separated briefly to rid themselves of their remaining clothing, she admitted to the second truth. When Lucy had kissed Laxus, she had never been aiming for his cheek at all. The fact that he moved had nothing to do with it. The moment she had knelt next to him, the feeling of needing to possess him in some way had taken over. The headphones had merely been the beginning, and once she had them, she felt it wasn't enough. Just a kiss, she had thought. Every thing that she had taken in her need for possession had only left her wanting more and she yearned to find whatever it was that would finally make it feel complete.

They came together once more, and she took the dominant position to straddle his lap. Holding his shoulders for leverage, she impaled herself on his member before he had a chance to react. She remained still, burying her face in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. It hurt, but not as badly as she had thought it might. It was perhaps something like a pin prick followed by a general sore feeling. Beyond that, she could feel that her mate was well equipped and it was taking her some time to merely adjust to his size. She was full of him, and there was a contentment in that, but again, it wasn't enough. She steeled herself, taking a tighter grip on his shoulders before beginning to move. It still hurt a little. When the head of his member was the last to slip out of her she opened her mouth and bit into his shoulder as she came down and engulfed him again. She would share her pain, and they would be truly unified. She continued to move, never leaving his manhood fully outside of her again because it hurt less that way. Either the pain was fading away, or her building need was overwhelming her, because she sped up her motions. With his hands on his waist, he began to help her and it made her feel even better. The feeling of him moving inside her was blissful, and Lucy closed her eyes and whimpered. She dug her nails into the back of his shoulders where she was gripping him as she neared climax. Without warning, his member rubbed some magical spot within her and she was lost in her orgasm. It was so much stronger than her first, and it was enhanced by the feeling of him continuing to pull her down onto himself even while she was squeezing down on him with all she had. She could tell he was also close to cumming because his breaths were short and harsh. Within a few strokes, she felt him pull her down on to his member almost painfully before he erupted within her. The world around her seemed almost pink and warm as she felt his warm seed shooting deep inside her. Then, she finally found her complete possession of him as he sunk his teeth into the side of her neck and moaned loudly.

"Laxus!" she cried out, riding out the tremors in her body. He seemed to come to his senses at the sound of his name and stilled before gently licking away the small amounts of blood from where he had sunk his teeth in. "My Laxus." She purred this last phrase while nuzzling his shoulder. At the sound of this, he instantly became hard again. She sighed and bounced against him playfully. He growled, lifting her slowly off him and positioning her in front of him on her hands and knees. Their height difference became apparent as he slid his member over her voluptuous bottom. Grabbing some random stacked books and items nearby, he righted them so that he was positioned at her entrance. He took her from behind, making her moan out loud as she wondered how anything could feel more right or good than this. When they finished, he laid down with her next to him on the bare floor. He brushed his large hands across her hair, and she relaxed.

"Lucy already went home!" Freed was heard saying quite loudly in the hallway. The couple stirred, and Laxus began pulling his clothing on in a haphazard fashion, feeling the need to escape. The footsteps were getting closer, so he picked up Lucy and threw her dress and his shirt over her before escaping out a nearby window. The door to the store room itself was never opened, but Laxus continued to run, having no clue that he had left Lucy's panties behind until they had arrived at her apartment. Lucy was half asleep anyway, so he laid her on her bed before fixing his clothes. Looking down at the girl who was still naked as the day she was born, he felt a pang of guilt and began the arduous task of slipping her dress onto her before tucking her into the bed properly. He sat on the floor next to her bed protectively, taking the opportunity to watch her sleeping form. He could smell Natsu due to the wind coming in from the open window, and stood up. Laxus rolled his eyes, of course Natsu would come looking for her here. Besides him, there was someone else too. Probably Grey. Laxus placed a quick kiss on Lucy's forehead before disappearing in a flash of lightning a few minutes before Natsu and Grey entered the apartment from the front door.


	18. Chapter 18

Natsu's memories of the night Lucy got pregnant were far more reliable and accurate considering the important fact that he was not drunk, unlike a certain celestial spirit mage. The night has started out in good cheer, at least until his fight with Grey.

"Fire magic is superior to ice magic!" Natsu proclaimed gleefully.

"No way!" Grey complained. "Ice magic can do everything better than fire magic can!"

"Oh? Like What?" Natsu asked smugly. Grey had stopped speaking and seemed to be thinking carefully, which made Natsu a bit nervous.

"Ice mages are better dancers because ice magic is so graceful. Unlike your careless flame magic, ice magic is an art." Grey stated, deciding instantly that there was no way that Natsu could dance.

"That's a lie! I dare you to prove it." Natsu replied, taking the bait. Grey then proceeded to show Natsu just how graceful slipping on ice multiple times could make the human body. Erza whistled, and some of the guild members came over to cheer him on as his more acrobatic motions were gaining attention. He finished, grinning triumphantly.

"And what can you do salamander?" He challenged, catching his breath. Natsu responded by imitating some break dancing as best he remembered it. It was around the time that the pink haired mage was pulling off the worm that Grey realized that he had misjudged his opponent. There was no way they could compete this way when they weren't even using the same style! He had to even the playing field. "That's great, but can you dance with a partner?". Grey was certain that his style of dance was better suited to a partner, not that he actually had any practice but he wasn't going to let anyone know that.

"You don't even have a partner!" Natsu spat out, his friend Happy already there to back him up. It took him no time to realize he shouldn't have said this so loudly.

"Grey-sama!" Juvia practically materialized around Grey. Natsu realized that although Happy was graceful with wings, he probably wasn't going to be able to compete with Juvia. Before Natsu could formulate a plan on how to proceed, Grey was already doing a pretty terrible job of dancing with Juvia. Natsu could only think of one person who might be able to keep up with him, and ran to the table where she was sitting. He stopped short, noticing that she looked upset. Believing wholly in the healing power of physical exercise, he touched her arm to get her attention.

"Lucy, let's dance!" he asked, happy to see that the shadows had left her face after a moment.

"Let's do it!" she replied seriously, and he could feel himself fire up in response. Yes! With Lucy competing seriously, he could accomplish both goals of making her feel better and beating Grey in one activity. It couldn't be any more perfect. What Natsu had misjudged most was that he didn't actually know how to apply break dancing to dancing with a partner. Without meaning to, he began to imitate Grey but tried to distinguish himself by throwing Lucy up in the air a few times. He was fairly certain he'd seen swing dancers do it, so this had to be good. He got so into it that he saw Grey attempting something similar. Needing to up the ante, he threw Lucy as far as he could over his head, not anticipating the feeling of someone pushing him. He fell flat on his face, just in time to hear Lucy scream his name. He tried to right himself as quickly as possible, just in time to see none other than Laxus standing there with his arms out. Lucy landed neatly within them, and Natsu stared at him thoughtfully. Something strange was going on with Laxus, because his smell was stronger than usual. Lucy looked a little pale in his arms, and he momentarily felt guilty for throwing her so high. The taller man set Lucy down behind him so that Natsu couldn't see her any more. Even more suspicious, he thought.

"You brats, stop making such a mess in the guild!" Laxus admonished him, though Natsu felt that the anger was a bit misplaced. Why just yell at him and not Grey too? He narrowed his eyes in a reptile fashion, examining the older man's body language. Laxus was mad at him, but also distracted.

"Sure, sure." he waved it off, deciding to observe for now. Natsu sat down at the table where Lucy had sat moments before, realizing she had joined some of the women at the bar. What bothered him most was that Laxus had stopped paying any attention to Natsu fairly quickly even though he had seemed genuinely angry. Examining the older man, he noticed that Laxus was staring intently at something near the bar. Tracing the gaze, he saw Lucy's head turn briefly and in that moment Natsu understood more than he wanted to and placed one hand over his face to hide the blush. How embarrassing, Natsu thought. This was why it was stupid to bestow dragon slayer magic using a lacrima. The older man had no idea what was happening, and Natsu was the only one who cared enough to say something. He was certain Gajeel didn't care either way and that it was far too embarrassing for Wendy to do it. Natsu steeled himself for the most embarrassing conversation he was ever going to have with Laxus, and stood up.


	19. Chapter 19

"Oi, Laxus." Laxus grunted in assent, but Natsu could tell he wasn't listening. "Lucy." The man actually turned around to look at him this time.

"What?".

"I need to talk to you about Lucy. Come with me." he said, leading Laxus into the back of the guild. By luck alone, he found a store room and walked in.

"What do you want brat?" Laxus said, clearly agitated to be out of eyesight of the blonde woman.

"Laxus, you need to stay in this room until Lucy leaves," Natsu said, hoping he wouldn't have to spell it out. He recognized his own poor choice of words by the irritation in Laxus' face and tried to fix his mistake by being blunt. "Laxus, you're in heat and if you see Lucy now you're going to hurt her. If you don't want to hurt her or anyone else, stay here until she leaves for the night." Laxus seemed to actually take in these words, much to Natsu's relief.

"Ah. Fine." Natsu was somewhat relieved that he didn't need to go into any more detail than that, and thanked Igneel wherever he was that the lightning mage had at least some understanding of what he was trying to say. With that, and some strict instructions to Freed and Bickslow not to let anyone go into the back room, especially Lucy, Natsu had only one job left. He merely needed to make sure that Lucy didn't go wandering back there. After half an hour of Lucy running around the guild playing some game with the other women, he decided that she seemed too drunk to respond to the magic of Laxus' mating call. He probably didn't need to keep watching her the whole time. He had no sooner thought this than he felt something on his foot. He peeked under the table, and found Cana untying one of his sandals.

"What are you doing?" he asked, raising one pink eyebrow.

"I need this. Just let me borrow it for five minutes." Cana asked. Although he had an idea of why Cana needed his sandal, he knew he'd need it if he needed to forcibly remove Lucy from the building as well, so he couldn't give it to her.

"I can't. Can't you take someone else's shoe?" Natsu complained, moving his foot away from her hand.

"No, Mira is pretty strict about the rules and I've tried that trick before." Natsu laughed at the fact that Cana had tried to cheat Mira in the first place. This was just the opening that Cana had been waiting for, and grabbed his sandal before disappearing. Natsu gave chase, annoyed that she had tricked him.

"Give me back my shoe!" he yelled, chasing after her. Erza ran interference, probably at the request of that mischevious Mira, trying to tell him that he shouldn't take the game so seriously. After chasing her for a while, he worked out a deal with her wherein she had to give the shoe to Mira right away so that Mira could give it back. As the two stood at the bar, Mira calmly took the sandal from Cana and then handed it back to Natsu.

"Ugh, Natsu, that took an hour. Do you realize you're going to make me lose the game?" Cana whined, reminding him of the time that had passed. Had it already been an hour? He looked around the room, searching for Lucy and couldn't immediately find her. She should have been easy to find with Bisca's hat and Macao's coat, but he couldn't seem to find her at all.

"Where's Lucy?" he asked Mira.

"Still working on her scavenger hunt list, I think. I haven't seen her for a while though, so maybe she went home." Mira answered, pouring a drink for one of the bar patrons. Natsu could tell that she'd been here, but the scent was faint. As he walked towards the area where Freed and Bickslow were on guard, he immediately noticed two things: Freed looked guilty, and Lucy's scent was definitely leading into the very store room he had told Laxus to hide himself. He glared at them before stomping into the hallway. Freed jumped in front of him, and it only made him more suspicious when Freed spoke very loudly.

"Lucy already went home!" Freed explained hastily. Natsu stared at the closed door before turning away and walking back into the guild hall. It was possible that Laxus' smell was so strong that it was masking Lucy's, but it was also possible that she really had gone home. Natsu grabbed Grey along the way, and hurried to Lucy's apartment. He didn't want to think badly of Laxus, but until he saw that Lucy was well, he couldn't be satisfied.

He and Grey entered the apartment and Natsu almost sighed in relief until he noticed that she smelled a lot like Laxus. Had she met with him after all? Natsu shook his head. It was probably from that time when Laxus caught her out of the air. There was no way that a dragon slayer in heat would leave his mate unattended so soon. Most dragons disappeared with their mates to make nests and wouldn't appear again until their young were born. The fact that Lucy was here had to be a good thing.

"She looks fine." Grey muttered, wondering why he'd been dragged all the way here for nothing.

"Sure. But let's stay here tonight to make sure." So Natsu and Grey had fallen asleep, completely unaware of when Lucy had revived in the night. The blond mage was not entirely sober even after a trip to the bathroom, so when she spotted the last two items on her scavenger hunt list she had to suppress gleeful laughter. Taking Grey's pants had been simple enough since they were on the floor already, but pulling off Natsu's without waking him took great care. By the time she realized that his undergarments had come off with them, she decided she was too tired to fix it and just pinned the two pairs of pants to her kitchen wall so that she could bring them to Mira later. She just needed to go lay down and rest. Despite the fact that her friends were right there in the room with her, she felt lonely. She stood in front of the window, and even though she couldn't see him, she knew he was somewhere nearby because she could feel his eyes on her. That was enough to calm her, so she climbed into bed and fell asleep, thinking how proud Laxus would be that she was a winner.


	20. Chapter 20

During the night the guild was celebrating their return from Tenrou Island, Laxus had been feeling a bit awkward. He wasn't exactly a member, and the Thunder God Tribe members who still were Fairy Tail members were happy to see him. Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow were trying to make him feel less out of place by carrying on as usual.

He was happy to be alive, considering that their aged members had thought them dead these past seven years, but he was still absorbing the shock that they had indeed almost died. With Bickslow to his left, and his grandfather to his right, they'd all been holding hands and awaiting the impact. The last thing he remembered didn't make sense: he hadn't been looking up at their impending doom, but across at the small blonde woman secured between Grey and Natsu. He was certain he had been looking up like everyone else, but for some reason he only remembered looking at her. It was the first time he'd really looked at her since he returned from his exile, and he'd thought that she had changed. To be fair, he was comparing her to that time Evergreen had turned her into a statue, but while journeying on his own he had heard stories about her. How had such a small woman dealt with a dark guild all by herself? He supposed that until their recent fight, he hadn't really seen her use her full potential.

Laxus didn't realize that he was smiling until one of Bickslow's dolls poked his shoulder.

"It's good to be home, right?" Bickslow said cheerfully.

"Home sweet home! Home sweet home!" his dolls joined in. Laxus wiped the smile off his face, fully aware that Bickslow could be too intuitive.

"Well, to be honest, I don't know how you managed without me." He replied while shrugging for effect. That was when he heard her voice among the general noise of the guild. He tried to look in that direction as casually as possible, but his friends knew him too well. Lucy was a few feet away at a table talking to Natsu.

"Those kids sure know how to make noise." Evergreen commented snidely. Laxus realized that most of the guild had already been watching whatever was going on, so it wouldn't seem that unusual if he also looked. As Lucy stood suddenly, looking determined, a strange feeling came over him. He felt an intense rush of energy, like they were in that circle again on Tenrou Island. He stood up without realizing it, and walked closer to where Natsu and Lucy were doing some ridiculous acrobatic exercises. Was that supposed to be dancing? They were moving almost too quickly to see, but Lucy looked uncomfortable. He felt a small bit of irritation begin to build up, although he couldn't understand why it was making him so upset. The air around him was becoming a bit static, so he took a deep breath to try and calm down. That's when the pink haired brat threw the poor young woman higher into the air than he had before, and he felt himself move without thinking. He suddenly pushed the unsuspecting Natsu to the floor.

"Natsu!" she shrieked. He caught her easily, and based on the colour of her complexion he could tell that his earlier observation had been right. She was justifiably feeling ill from being thrown around like a rag doll, and he felt his anger build up again. He felt her small arms wrap around his neck, holding tightly. Her body was so warm against his chest, and he felt his anger immediately disperse. Natsu stood up and his casual way of approaching Lucy bothered him.

The way she shifted in his arms told him that she probably wanted to be put down, so he obliged reluctantly without breaking eye contact with Natsu. How dare that brat throw Lucy?

"You brats, stop making such a mess in the guild!" he admonished, realizing very suddenly that he was annoyed with Natsu for a pretty peculiar reason. He felt Lucy disappear from behind him, and it surprised him that he could feel it without any physical contact.

"Sure, sure." Natsu replied, waving it off. He was instantly relieved that Natsu wasn't making a big deal of this because he couldn't concentrate on the pink haired brat any longer. He couldn't see Lucy, and for some reason he needed to know where she was. He was feeling strangely protective of her. He felt that something was awry with him, but he couldn't concentrate unless he could see her. He turned and scanned the room until he found her at the bar with some of the other women, including Evergreen. He could walk over there, right? Sure, he had to talk to Evergreen about something. His plan at pretence was forgotten as she turned her head and her big brown eyes met his. He felt her gaze strike him like a lightning bolt, and suddenly wished she'd say his name. He wished she would call for him. She broke contact, and he felt more loss than he should have. She had looked at him, he rationalized, so he should go to her. Maybe he didn't even need to talk to her, he just needed to be a little closer. Someone was trying to talk to him, but he decided that it couldn't be nearly as important as –

"Lucy." The voice finished his thought, and he turned to look in surprise. It was Natsu talking to him.

"What?" he asked, irritated that he was wasting precious time talking to the brat.

"I need to talk to you about Lucy. Come with me." Natsu replied. The name seemed to cast a spell on him, and he followed the pink haired mage into the back of the small guild hall. When he entered the door to the store room, his irritability flared up again. He could barely sense her from here, and he shifted on his feet impatiently.

"What do you want brat?" he asked, although with his current lack of focus he was surprised that he could even hear Natsu's response.

"Laxus, you need to stay in this room until Lucy leaves." Natsu said, and Laxus could feel the lightning gathering in his hand reflexively. How dare he? "Laxus, you're in heat and if you see Lucy now you're going to hurt her. If you don't want to hurt her or anyone else, stay here until she leaves for the night."

The words made sense. Now that he thought about it, he did skim over some information like that when he was trying to read about dragon slayer magic. He hadn't really read much of that paragraph, because it had nothing to do with improving his abilities, but Natsu had given him a pretty good idea of what was going on. More than anything, he didn't want to hurt Lucy.

"Ah. Fine." He agreed. He just needed to stay here until it passed over. He could do that much. He cleared out a small corner in the room and sat there, putting his entire focus on not moving. He closed his eyes and imagined her stone figure, reminding himself that he had no right to approach her after what he had done. He had threatened her life, and it was almost physically painful to think of it now. The pain was keeping him in place though, so he continued. He could do this.


	21. Chapter 21

Laxus lost sense of how long he had been waiting in the store room, though he suspected he was going to be there for a while. Had the impulses remained at the same level, he supposed he could have just waited patiently, but as the time went on it was becoming more and more difficult. He hadn't seen Lucy in a while, and it was taxing on his nerves. By the time he heard her soft footsteps outside the door, he was barely holding it in. He wanted to see her so badly, but he willed himself to remain still and keep his eyes closed as the door opened and then shut behind her.

"Laxus? Are you here?" Lucy called, and he briefly lost control of his powers. The lights flickered, betraying him. She was looking for him! He thought, mildly happy. She was on the move, and he realized that it wasn't going to be difficult for her to find him. She was getting closer, and this might be his last chance to save her from himself. He pushed himself to say something to make her leave. Something eloquent, that made her realize what danger she was putting herself in.

"No, I'm not here, just go already!" he managed to grunt. So much for being eloquent, he thought, hearing a quiet giggle nearby. She was standing right next to him now, and it was all he could do to keep his powers in check. He focused on his breathing with a renewed vigilance when he sensed her kneeling next to him.

"Laxus, I need your headphones to save the world." She said seriously. His heart plummeted. Curse Mira! She wasn't here to see him at all. Mira had been asking to see his headphones since they met as children. Lucy was moving again, and he was brought back to himself when he felt the lightest touch run across the back of his neck.

"Please, take them and go." he begged. He pulled them out of the pocket of his coat, and put them down in front of her without opening his eyes. The barest of touches had been too much, and she needed to leave, now. Where was Natsu? That stupid brat had said that everything would be fine if he just stayed here. Natsu hadn't warned him that this scenario was a possibility.

"Thanks Laxus." she answered brightly, taking the headphones. Pushing his hands into the floor to keep from grabbing her, he waited for her to leave. Her breathing suddenly changed. What is she doing? He turned his head slightly as if to look at her, even though his eyes were closed. Then he felt her soft lips on his, and he was lost again. Just a kiss wouldn't be so bad, he reasoned. He felt her wrap her small arms around his neck for the second time that evening, pressing her lips harder against his and he decided he didn't care anymore. He pulled her into his lap to deepen the kiss, and from there he understood that he had no power to defend against her. His skin practically felt like it hummed where she touched him, and he didn't dare to open his eyes lest he take her there and then. Things were getting out of control, and he knew he needed to stop before it was too late. She was almost completely naked, and he couldn't rationalize it away any more. He pushed her off his lap, looking at her surprised expression in the darkness. Then, as if mesmerized, she was moving towards him again.

"Lucy please," he grunted. "You have to run. I can't stop myself. Please." He had no sooner uttered the words than Lucy's features changed. Before his eyes, his sweet Lucy had turned into a devil, intent on consuming him. It was in her face and the way she moved.

"No," she said huskily slowly moving toward him on hands and knees with the grace of a black panther. He felt himself shiver in response. "you're mine Laxus." The last thought he had before completely losing himself in her was that she was absolutely right. He was strangely certain that even if he had run from her, she would have chased him.

"Lucy already went home!" Freed said loudly from the hallway, snapping him back into reality.

'Shit, Natsu is going to kill me this time.' Laxus began pulling his clothing on in a haphazard fashion, feeling the need to escape. The footsteps were getting closer, so he picked up Lucy and threw her dress and his shirt over her before escaping out a nearby window. The door to the store room itself was never opened, but Laxus continued to run, having no clue that he had left Lucy's panties behind until they had arrived at her apartment. Lucy was half asleep anyway, so he laid her on her bed before fixing his clothes. Looking down at the girl who was still naked as the day she was born, he felt a pang of guilt and began the arduous task of slipping her dress onto her before tucking her into the bed properly. He sat on the floor next to her bed protectively, taking the opportunity to watch her sleeping form. He could smell Natsu on the wind coming in the open window, and stood up. Laxus rolled his eyes, of course Natsu would come looking for her here. Besides him, there was someone else too. Probably Grey. Laxus placed a quick kiss on Lucy's forehead before disappearing in a flash of lightning a few minutes before Natsu and Grey entered the apartment from the front door.

Although it would have been immensely safer for him to go back to the guild and pretend that he had stayed put, he felt tethered there. He was sitting on the rooftop of the building across from Lucy's apartment building so that he could still see her through the window. He rolled his shoulders, realizing how stiff he was from this adventure. He would stretch properly later, once Natsu was less alert.

Sometime later, he was lying as comfortably as one could on a roof when he smelled her scent on the air. She was standing in the window, looking for him. He was downwind so there was no way she could smell him, but he knew she knew he was there. She went back to her bed, and he wished more than anything he could be there with her.


	22. Chapter 22

Laxus found somewhere much more comfortable to spend the next evening: a small bar around the corner from Lucy's apartment. It was a fitting place for him at this point, as some sense had dawned onto him. He leaned his face into his hands and sighed. No matter how he looked at it, he was stalking her now. First he had taken advantage of her while she was drunk and now he was stalking her. He had overheard her telling Mira in the morning that she didn't remember anything. He wondered at what point this stupid thing was going to wear off. He was worrying the Thunder God Tribe, and it was weird for him to hang out near the guild without actually going in. Sometimes he wondered if he just approached her that she would just magically remember everything and fall into his arms. He sighed out loud.

"Oh, hey Laxus." Gildarts surprised him. "I didn't realize you came here too." Laxus decided to ignore him, because it was fairly obvious that Gildarts was only here to check up on him. He was certain that the older man would rather be fawning over Cana.

"I'm fine, so you can go."

"I can see you're troubled, but I can guess as to why." Gildarts said, and Laxus raised one eyebrow in response. "You want to get back into the guild, right?" Laxus' eyes widened, and he looked at Gildarts for a completely different reason.

"That's genius." Laxus said quietly, a plan forming in his head. It would be so simple! First he would convince his grandfather to let him back into the guild, and then he would do everything properly. He would show everyone how reformed he was, and then Lucy would befriend him and they could start dating like a normal couple.

"Don't worry about it, I will put in a good word with the master. That said, Makarov is worried about you. Are you going home tonight?" Gildarts asked.

"Probably not. Maybe tomorrow. You can go fawn over your grown up kid now," Laxus said, urging him to leave. Laxus swore that he was never going to be such a sickeningly doting father. His mind wandered briefly, thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to be embarrassing if it were him and Lucy.

Three months passed by quickly for Laxus, mostly because though he had rejoined the guild, he couldn't seem to get Lucy's attention. First he had planned his secret training trip with the Thunder God Tribe so that they would be close to Lucy's group. This required some disclosure to his friends, but he was glad that they didn't ask too many questions. Then he had entered the grand magic games as Fairy Tail's B team, and thought for sure that he had she would understand his feelings after he fought Flare Corona. He'd even cut his hair! If beating the entire guild of Raven Tail one handed didn't get her attention, he wasn't sure there was anything he could do. It both irritated him and gave him relief that Natsu was always stuck to her side. On one hand, Natsu was keeping her safe, but on the other hand he was making it really hard for him to strike up a conversation with her.

Laxus was sitting back in the corner of the guild, feeling quite annoyed. His friends appeared with some drinks and food, and he sighed out loud.

"So I guess that your courtship isn't going very well." Evergreen commented.

"I don't know why, we've made every attempt to show her how awesome Laxus is." Freed pouted.

"I don't think subtlety works on Lucy." Bickslow commented, chuckling. Laxus and Freed glared at him while his dolls danced in the air behind him.

"Well that's your problem then, you should ask a woman about how to get to a woman's heart!" Evergreen said in a sing song voice.

"You're single yourself." Bickslow commented dryly.

"Try harder! Try harder!" his dolls commented. Evergreen blushed and crossed her arms.

"When it comes down to it, beautiful women don't have to actively pursue men. He'll be drawn into my charm in no time." Evergreen said confidently. Laxus thought about it for a moment. Perhaps waiting for Lucy to approach him had been a flawed plan after all. Freed was apparently only a good tactician in battle.

"You might be right." Laxus said, scratching his chin. Evergreen sat up straight, absorbing the praise.

"What you need is a big romantic gesture. The absolute opposite of subtle – make it crystal clear how you feel about her. Buy her something nice." She advised, while Laxus nodded. Well, it wasn't a terrible idea. He just needed to figure out some grand romantic gesture that could in no way be misunderstood. What was the opposite of subtle?

"If you like her that much, just marry her already." Bickslow added, laughing again. When it appeared that Laxus was taking his comment seriously, Evergreen jumped up from her seat and stood in front of him waving her arms.

"No! What are you thinking? Don't take him seriously. That's way too bold." Evergreen warned him. He waved at her to return to her seat.

"It's fine, I can pull off a bold move better than something subtle anyway." Laxus said. Bickslow began laughing harder, and Laxus smiled in response. Three months was long enough to wait. "First I'll get a ring, then I will accidentally run into her outside of the guild and take her to dinner. It's perfect."

"No it's not! That's insane!" Evergreen protested.

"Would you still say that if it was what's his name proposing to you?" Laxus asked. Evergreen turned bright red, and made an irritated face.

"Who would marry Elfman?!" she protested.

Laxus finished eating, then stood up to leave.

"I'm going first." He said, deciding which jewelry stores to look in first as he left the guild.


	23. Chapter 23

Laxus stood in front of his bathroom mirror, double checking that he looked alright. His hair was a lot more manageable now that it was short, but he had more concerns about which shirt he should wear that day. What should a man wear when proposing? He finally decided upon the black sleeveless turtleneck that he'd been wearing the night they'd mated. Today was the day, he hyped. He'd taken great care in picking a ring, a nice restaurant, and now he had the right shirt.

Laxus arrived at the guild early, and the Thunder God Tribe were immediately upon him when he entered.

"Oh my god, you're actually going through with it?" Evergreen said, taking in his appearance.

"I have to agree with Evergreen, this plan is absolutely insane." Freed added. Laxus hushed them, pulling them off to the side of the room. He looked at the pair thoughtfully, wondering if maybe this plan was a bit hasty after all.

"If you wait any longer she might meet someone else." Bickslow teased.

"Bickslow!" Freed and Evergreen said together, turning on their mischievous friend.

"There's no way. I bit her, so she's mine." Laxus replied, crossing his arms defensively. The three of them all fell into silence at his remark. Bickslow had a point though, it had been three months now and he'd made no progress. She probably didn't even have the mark anymore. He pulled his shocked friends to their usual table as the blonde in question entered the guild. He watched her curiously, thinking about what Bickslow had said. He could read her body language fairly easily, and noticed that she was tense. She stood up like her life depended on it. He stood himself, and moved so that he might catch her attention. He didn't realize how distracted she was until she ran directly into him. Would it kill her to wave at him or something?

"Ow," she said, looking up at him. Not even a 'hi Laxus?' he thought. If she was this unaware of him, he might just cancel the first part of the plan to ask her out to dinner and just take her to one by throwing her over his shoulder like a barbarian. "oh, sorry Laxus." Based on the look in her eyes, he could tell that something was bothering her. Well, he wasn't going to be able to ask her now.

"It's fine," he said, moving out of her way. Wherever she was going likely had to do with what was bothering her. He reasoned with himself that he wasn't stalking her so much as making sure she didn't fall into the canal or hurt herself. The Thunder God Tribe understood his simple wave, and they made expressions that made it clear that they did not support his bad habit. He was fairly surprised when she started walking into the forest. He had to keep a greater distance from her because he no longer had rooftops or alleyways to hide him. He had an idea where she was going though, so he took the shorter way and climbed into a tree with a good view of Porlyusica's house. He was both surprised and impressed with her plan to lure out Porlyusica, though it only made him more curious about why she was there.

"I think I'm sick! Can you please help me?" Lucy said quickly in one breath. Laxus tightened his grip on the tree branch he was using to steady himself. There was no way! Lucy couldn't be sick, she smelled fine.

"You're fine. You're wasting my time." Porlyusica mirrored his thoughts. Now that he thought about it, she did smell just a little different lately. It was so subtle though that it might have just been a change of laundry detergent or soap, for all he knew. When she had bumped into him earlier, she had been closer to him than she had been for a long time, so he hadn't thought anything of it.

"No, you don't understand! My period is late and it's never late! I've also been feeling really tired and sometimes I have a hard time eating." Lucy continued to speak really fast. Laxus gripped the tree branch slightly harder, realizing what Porlyusica had been trying to say. The tree branch fractured under his grip.

"Are all humans this stupid?" Porlyusica said, and he was instantly aware that she was talking to him as well now. "I'll say this one more time: you are not ill." Her meaning was clear, if only to Laxus.

"But..." Lucy said quietly. He felt Porlyusica's gaze upon him, and he swallowed unconsciously. The old woman had always been sharp.

"You look smart, you explain it to her." Porlyusica said to him before closing the door to her house. He realized that he didn't have a choice but to come out of hiding now, and used his lightning transportation to land next to Lucy.

"You really have no idea, do you?" Laxus asked her quietly.

"I'm sorry I wasted Porlyusica's time, I guess it was just exhaustion. I'm embarrassed you had to see this. Were you here to ask something too?" Lucy said coolly. He raised his eyebrows, blushing. She really didn't know?

"Lucy, you're pregnant." He said, almost defensively. He had so many questions, but he could tell that she was too shocked by the news to answer him at that moment.

"What?" She uttered. "That's impossible!". He rested one of his hands over his face, trying to hide his hurt feelings. There was no way she hadn't noticed that she'd been pregnant for three months, which meant... there was someone else. No! He needed to hold it together for a bit longer. She was the only one allowed to be upset right now. She charged at him, suddenly angry. He could have easily dodged her, but he stood still and let her hit him. She gathered her hand back to herself, and seemed embarrassed.

"I... I almost died." She said quietly, looking away. His heart clenched at this reminder, and he realized that nothing else mattered. Lucy was alive, and that was the most important thing. He would hurt whoever had dared to touch his Lucy later.

"Lucy, let's talk about this somewhere else. Okay?" He said. She sighed, so he rested one hand on her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Then they turned to go back to Magnolia. They decided right away that they would go to his house, and spent the rest of the walk back in silence.

"Your house," she started to speak when they were standing in front of it. "it's so far from the guild." Laxus laughed before he unlocked and opened the front door.

"All the buildings closest to the guild get damaged first, so the old man was crafty in setting up a house all the way out here." He said, removing his coat and throwing it on the couch in the front room. It was almost funny how wrong this day had gone. His house was clean at the moment, if only because he'd thought they would be spending that night together as an engaged couple.

"The master lives here?!" Lucy squeaked. He guided her towards the couch before disappearing into the kitchen.

"The old man hasn't lived here in a long time." He made her a cup of tea to give himself time to think. He had no plan, but he couldn't go charging into the next room demanding that she tell him the identity of the man who had ruined his big romantic gesture. He brought her a cup of whatever tea was in the front of the cupboard before he rejoined her.

"Lucy," Laxus spoke quietly. "how are you?". He didn't know how to steer this conversation in the direction he wanted to go.

"I'm feeling better, thanks Laxus." She said. She finally seemed recovered from her shock. She was calm, so he now had to think about what was best for her. She'd seemed so surprised about the pregnancy that he began to worry that she didn't know her own options.

"You don't have to..." he started, failing to finish his sentence. He took an audible breath and finished speaking: "If you don't want to, you don't have to give birth to it." The smile on Lucy's face slipped away as quickly as it had come, and he almost regretted saying anything at all. The comfortable silence had turned awkward, and rather than see her expression, Laxus chose to focus his gaze on the coffee table before him.

"I don't really feel like I have a choice," Lucy said weakly. She smiled almost bitterly, and shook her head when he turned to her and opened his mouth to speak. "If I have been carrying this child through the entirety of the grand mage games, and it managed to survive that, then I feel that it really wants to be born." She was so mature, he thought. He almost didn't want to ask such a petty thing after her response, but he needed to know.

"Since when do you think...?" He attempted, still staring at the space in front of him. He needed to know exactly who his rival was if he was going to get her back.

"Do you remember the party we had after we got back from Tenrou island?" She asked. He nodded, without looking at her. "Well, it could have only been then. To be embarrassingly honest, I don't even remember that night." He looked up at her in surprise.

"You don't look three months pregnant. How?" He began before she set her cup down and interrupted him.

"I'll tell you this secret, but you must keep it Laxus." She said seriously. He nodded dumbly. "When everyone took those three months to train, well, my group was invited to the spirit realm and we had a party. Well, little did we realize that the passage of time was different there. Three months went by while we were there for one night."

Her explanation made everything fit together just so, and Laxus realized that he had no rival. He couldn't hold back his laughter as he thought about how all his worries had been for nothing. He reigned himself in, and smiled at her.

"Lucy Heartfilia, don't worry about anything. I will take care of everything with the guild," He said, revelling in the overwhelming realization that he was going to be a father.

"Well, if you say so. I don't see how I'm supposed to cover my rent with easy jobs for the next while." Lucy grumbled. This knocked him out of his feelings long enough to remember that she had no idea.

"Really, don't worry about it." He said while standing up and grabbing his coat. "I'll walk you home." His original plan of proposing and having dinner were going to need some alterations, but he knew one thing for certain: he was going to marry Lucy no matter how insane his plan needed to be.

When he returned home after walking Lucy back, he let himself enjoy the moment. He knew that at some point he would have to address the fact that he was leaving Lucy completely in the dark. If she remembered what really happened, would that be good or bad? Should he tell her? It was difficult enough to not find the Thunder God Tribe and break the news immediately. He had no idea this kind of happiness existed. He did feel guilty about the fact that he hadn't told her the truth right away, but he would have to figure out a good time to do that.


	24. Chapter 24

Laxus had managed to gather the Thunder God Tribe to explain his plan, and their responses weren't exactly surprising.

"You... I want to congratulate you and hit you at the same time." Evergreen had said. Freed had been unusually silent, just staring at him while the news sunk in. Bickslow, whom he'd thought would take the news the best was uncharacteristically serious.

"Well, I can't say this was an outcome that I didn't consider, and yet... poor blondie. If she doesn't remember, you really should tell her." Bickslow said, shocking the rest of the group. Apparently this was where he drew the line for his jokes.

"I'm not going to keep her in the dark forever. I do plan on telling her, but there's a time and a place for these things." Laxus replied after a moment.

"It sounds to me like you're just trying to monopolize her in a vulnerable moment before she has a chance to reject you." Freed finally spoke, his face set in a grimace.

"If you don't tell her before making any big movements, one of us will." Evergreen said, torn between her loyalty to the guild and the Thunder God Tribe. Before Laxus had a chance to react to his friends' apparent betrayal, Bickslow spoke up first.

"No. This is a problem between them, so I think we should leave it for them to solve. Just remember this, Laxus, you reap what you sow."

"Remember! Remember!" his dolls finally joined in.

After that it had taken a day and a half to finally get his grandfather alone to talk because he'd been so busy with the paperwork incurred by their guild taking missions again. In order to get a moment alone with him, he'd had to agree to do at least one stack of apology letters. It was nothing like he had thought their conversation would go, with the two of them sitting in his office and filling out their own papers. He put down the page he'd reread three times and fixed his eyes on the old man.

"I had a good reason for coming to talk to you. Will you listen?" Laxus asked. Makarov sighed, rubbing his temples.

"What hornet's nest have you stirred up this time?" he asked. Laxus wanted to be affronted by his assumptions, but knew better.

"I plan to marry a person who is part of the guild, and you're the closest person to a guardian that she has right now." Laxus expected the blindsided expression on his grandfather's face and didn't react. He knew that the calculating man was simply buying time while he went through the number of guild members who no longer had family.

"You want my permission?" his grandfather asked, tearing up at the sentimentality of it.

"Well, yeah." Laxus brushed it off. He hid his embarrassment by hiding his face behind a sheet of paper. This was one of the first times he'd felt like his grandfather had truly forgiven him, and it was all because of Lucy.

"What makes you think you're good enough for one of my beauties?!" Makarov responded, breaking the mood. Laxus sighed and put down the paper blocking his view. That was an excellent question, even if it wasn't being asked in the most serious manner. What made him think that he was good enough for Lucy? He could protect her, he supposed. Salamander was already doing an adequate job though. Well, there was always the child – he would help her raise their child. Not a moment later he was reminded that anyone could do that, including a certain pink haired brat whose existence was starting to annoy him. What could he do for Lucy that no one else could do? There really wasn't anything, was there? He frowned.

"I don't know." He finally admitted. Lucy could probably live without him, but he didn't feel the same. He met his grandfather's eyes at last. "But it has to be her. I love her." Makarov seemed to be thinking this over before smiling brightly.

"Well, that's a pretty good answer." Laxus raised his eyebrows hopefully.

"So it's okay if I marry Lucy?" he asked, cautiously optimistic. His grandfather's expression changed dramatically.

"You want my beautiful Lucy?! You shitty brat, you couldn't just settle for someone your own age?! Lucy, among others, is one of the biggest draws for this guild! How are you possibly going to repay me for those losses?!" his grandfather began ranting. He was slamming his hand on his desk so hard that Laxus was sure that it was going to break if he didn't think of a good response quickly.

"WAIT!" he yelled, getting Makarov's attention. "Are you saying that you don't want to add Lucy to our family?" Makarov had stopped hitting the desk but was still looking at him with suspicious eyes. Laxus' face turned the brightest red the master had ever seen before he spoke next. "I will guarantee you great grandchildren!". Laxus knew he was grasping at straws now. He didn't have the courage to admit that Lucy was already pregnant, but it was the only thing that he could think of to appease the old man.

"Well, that's fine then." Makarov said, clearing his throat and going back to his paperwork. Laxus' jaw dropped open, and he seriously worried about his own genetics at that moment. He fixed himself quickly and set his focus back to the paperwork in front of him without saying anything. It was best not to push it. His grandfather had said yes, after all. "A great granddaughter would be nice, I've had enough of these shitty sons." Laxus realized at that moment how much trouble he was in when he did finally explain everything to Lucy. He had promised something that was impossible to guarantee and not even asked Lucy how many children she'd want beforehand. His grandfather wasn't that helpful with the paperwork that evening, because the old man kept daydreaming.

Laxus woke up the next morning having not even noticed that he'd fallen asleep. He pulled the sheet of paper off his face, and looked around for his grandfather. The old man wasn't there, so he went to the connected bathroom to clean himself up for the coming day. This wasn't ideal, but today he would propose to Lucy. For certain this time. He would have to go home to get the ring, but it would be fine.

When he entered the guild hall that morning, he hadn't anticipated being half tackled by Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow.

"What have you done?!" Evergreen seethed, and he stared at her waiting for her to elaborate.

"Lucy is going to punch you so hard." Freed added, and it was clear by the look on his face that he would let her.

"What are you all talking about?" Laxus asked, irritated that this was happening before he'd really had a chance to wake up. He hadn't seen Lucy for two days, or she hadn't seen him for two days, so he was now at the point where he would take a punch. He was self aware enough to know that he had presence in a room because of his height and reputation, and yet Lucy had failed to even wave at him the entire time.

"Laxus!" Mirajane called, and he felt a chill run down his spine. What was that demon up to now? He reluctantly approached her, and found Makarov there with a few of the older guild members.

"Congratulations Laxus!" Macao said, surprising him. Laxus looked suspiciously at Makarov's back where he was drinking. Was he really in the guild hall, drinking first thing in the morning and telling everyone already? Laxus wished he could blame the old man, but realized he'd never said anything about keeping it quiet.

"It will be nice to have a wedding within the guild after so long!" Bisca said, raising her beer for a toast. She was so happy that she was wiping the sides of her eyes self consciously. "It's just like everything is really back to normal." Laxus had not expected this kind of reaction, though he understood what she was saying. There was no point in correcting them now, he thought.

"I hope... I hope you'll be happy!" Laki spoke before running away. Laxus couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at how much attention he was getting. He was a little happy that his grandfather was clearly bragging about it though.

"You've already told them?" he asked the old man directly. Makarov turned on his bar stool and jumped up.

"How could I not? My grandson is getting married. Every grandparent dreams of this day." He said, a little more loudly than was necessary. The master climbed up onto the bar with his drink. A crowd was beginning to gather now, and Laxus was painfully reminded that Fairy Tail was the enemy of well laid plans sometimes because that was the moment that Lucy entered the guild. He turned to look, and his grandfather's eyes followed. He didn't have to look far because she was approaching the crowd.

"This will be great for the guild – it'll be perfect for a spread in Sorcerer's Weekly." Macao was saying. Laxus felt a bit irritated. Of course she'd notice him now after not even waving at him for two days.

"It's pretty big news! Of course they'll want to hear about it." Mirajane agreed.

"I was surprised too, I didn't think that Laxus would get married," Makarov laughed. Laxus managed to catch Lucy's eye at last, and he reached into the crowd to pull her out. As he put his arm around her, he silently told himself that they were going to laugh about this someday and that Freed was probably right. What he was doing was practically entrapment – no it was the definition of entrapment! Laxus had faced dragons before, he reminded himself. How hard would it be to untangle the mess forming in front of him now?

"Good, Lucy, you're here." Makarov said, and it was clear to Laxus that she wasn't paying attention. He followed her gaze to where Natsu was sitting, and decided that teasing her a bit now wouldn't be that bad. She was the one who had practically ignored him all this time, he reasoned. "My grandson, Laxus, is getting married." Finally, Lucy turned and looked between him and the master blankly.

"When are you planning to tie the knot?" asked Reedus from a nearby stool where he was clearly seen sketching the scene before him.

"Lucy and I are planning to wed as soon as possible." He answered, feeling her body tense under his arm. Good, he thought, so she was listening.

"I hope to see the face of my first great grandchild as soon as possible so I'll allow it," Makarov replied laughing. Laxus could practically feel Lucy's irritation rolling off her in waves. He knew he shouldn't be annoying her, but he was still a bit hurt that she'd been looking at the pink haired brat earlier. Didn't she see him often enough?

"We would be honoured if we could hold the wedding here in the guild, surrounded by our nakama." She finally let it out, and he felt as relieved as if he had been holding it in himself.

"What the hell, Laxus?!" She shrieked. She was mad, and it reminded him so much of that face she'd made so long ago, that he felt a little happy. "Excuse me everyone, I need to speak to Laxus for a moment." She ducked out from Laxus' hold and grabbed his wrist, pulling him after her as she prepared to push through the crowd. Laxus followed along without resistance, taking his small victories where he could. Not only was she entirely focused on him for the first time since they'd mated, but now she was touching him casually.

When she pushed at him toward her couch upon arriving at her apartment, he continued to go along with it. He sat on the couch, and he could see that she was even angrier than before. Her fists were shaking at her sides, and he realized he'd gone too far and that it was time for him to help her relax again.

"Laxus Dreyar, what in Earthland are you trying to pull?!" she asked.

"You're mad. I thought you might be. Do you hate me that much?" he asked. For a brief moment, he wondered if she wasn't remembering that night because she really didn't like him after all.

"It's not that, Laxus, and you know it! I'm mad that you did this and you didn't talk to me about it at all!" she fumed. He wasn't entirely surprised by this answer, but it did make him feel better. So she did still like him, he thought smiling. Even though he was certain she didn't remember, it seemed at the very least that her body remembered him. He decided to test out that theory for not entirely scientific reasons.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then to my proposal, and I will never do anything like this to you again," he said, taking advantage of her momentary surprise. He moved a stray hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger along her jaw bone before pulling her in towards him and kissed her.


	25. Chapter 25

Laxus had perhaps hoped for too much when he'd kissed the furious woman he was failing to court. When she started crying, he realized that it wasn't so simple as a fairy tale where he could just kiss her and that she would remember everything. He'd wanted her to relax, but this was a bit too far in the other direction. He pulled her into his lap and began stroking her hair. She held onto him tightly, just like back then. Only now it was him making her upset, and he felt incredibly guilty. He would have to make it up to her.

"I'm having a very difficult time with everything that's happening right now." She sobbed from the spot against his shoulder she had nestled into. He let her calm down before he answered.

"I meant what I said at the grand magic games. You are my family, so I will look after you." He said when she had finally stopped sniffling. "I – " he started before she put her small hand up to cover his mouth. Looking at her face, he could see that she had stopped crying but she had also closed her eyes.

"No more of that right now. Just let me catch up to everything that's happened and then you can say whatever you want. Stars, I'm just so tired lately." She said while withdrawing her hand from his mouth once he had nodded in assent to her demands. She curled up as best she could and leaned into his shoulder. Now wasn't the time to tell her, he thought as he felt her breathing deepen. He rested his chin on top of her head, and held her quietly. He wanted to hold her longer, and be there when she woke up but it was becoming too much. Her body reacted to him so much that it was painful to remember that she still couldn't remember that night. How could she forget him? She was clearly feeling overwhelmed, so it was not the time to unload an extra burden on her mind. He stood and settled her into her bed. Just like that night, he knelt at the side of her bed for a moment. He had a lot of growing up to do before the baby came he mused. Taking a paper from her desk, he wrote his address and a small note, and left it by her bedside.

The walk home was quiet, and he didn't feel up to talking to anyone. From this point on he was going to do better he swore. He was going to make Lucy so happy that she glowed. Then, eventually, she might love him despite this huge secret separating them. Knowing he had next to no food at home, he went shopping on the way. He made the trip quick, limiting the list to only enough food for dinner. As he left the market, he looked optimistically down at the food. He had bought enough for two people just in case. He didn't know if she'd like this food, but he also didn't know if she would want to see him that evening. If she decided to never talk to him again after that last encounter, he wouldn't blame her. A small part of his heart reminded him that she wouldn't let him get away that easily.

Laxus had enough time before Lucy arrived to practice his patience and indifference as he laid back on his couch while staring at the ceiling. All that fell apart the second time she passed his house. What the hell was she doing? Then she was just standing there, and he felt the last of his hard earned patience wear away. He stood, and walked to the door before opening it.

"What are you doing out here? Just knock already." he said, ushering her inside and closing the door behind them.

"How did you know I was there?" she asked suspiciously as he turned the locks.

"I have windows." He replied, deciding that it sounded far better than 'I can smell you' and that it wasn't exactly a lie.

"You... you can smell me, can't you?" she asked, as he made an escape into the living room. Well, so much for not sounding creepy he thought. He walked into the kitchen, and she followed. She had a look in her eyes that made him feel like she was about to punch him. "Tell me the truth: did you smell this pregnancy?" Laxus felt embarrassed by this question, as he didn't even realize that pregnant women had a unique smell before now. He hadn't spent much time paying attention to any women, being too busy in his efforts to get stronger.

"It's not like that, I really didn't know until Porlyusica said what she did. So I found out around the same time that you did."

"Oh really. Well, I'll let that slide for now, because there are more pressing questions that I came here to ask you."

"Of course. Do you want something to eat?" he asked. He didn't fail to notice the momentary interest in her eyes.

"No. Maybe later. There are some things we really need to talk about first." She walked into the living room and fell into the worn sofa, crossing her arms. It was too much to hope that she was here to talk about how she had remembered everything. He reluctantly joined her on the couch, and knew by the look in her eyes that she still didn't remember. His Lucy trusted him implicitly, whereas this one looked at him with suspicion. He didn't know you could miss part of a person so much.

"Okay, what do you want to ask me Lucy?" he asked, sighing.

"What is the plan with this wedding thing?" she asked.

"There isn't really much to it. I just thought we could do it before everyone figures out that you're pregnant," he answered, unsure of what exactly she was asking. She didn't look really pleased with the answer.

"Do you want to marry me, or is this pity?" Well, that cinched it – she definitely didn't remember if she was asking him this kind of question. Did she really think of him as the kind of man who would marry her out of pity?

"I wouldn't have done all of this if I didn't." Lucy turned a bright red colour before taking a deep breath. She was obviously still not pleased. He couldn't figure out what answer she was looking for. He wondered if she even knew because of the way she was asking.

"Do you – " she cleared her throat and tried again. "Do you love me?". He closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose before fixing his eyes on her once more.

"Yes."

In the silence that followed, he wondered if this was fine for now. She was honestly surprised, and it was almost hurtful. On the other hand, it could be a good sign that these were the reasons she was hesitating about his proposal. She hadn't said she loved him, but she had denied hating him. It was a start.

"I'll make dinner." He said while standing up. She nodded, still blushing. He was going to correct her bad habit of not paying attention one of these days, just as soon as he could untangle this mess of circumstances around them.

The dinner passed without incident, and he was happy at first that he had somehow managed to make the quiet blonde laugh. Then it had gotten excessive. Lucy was truly a study in extremes, he thought.

"Okay, this lack of oxygen cannot be good for the baby." He picked her up from her chair and carried her into the living room so that he could drop her on the couch. From the moment that he had lifted her from the chair, she had stopped laughing. She looked up at him from her space on the couch, almost sad.

"Laxus, is it really okay? Do you really want to raise this child with me? I would understand..." she trailed off. He swiftly knelt in front of her and held her so that the side of his face was gently resting over her stomach. She looked no different than normal, so it was almost difficult to believe that she was pregnant but he could smell it on her skin and it comforted him.

"If you will let me build a family with you, I would give you anything." He wanted to come clean and tell her everything, but he knew it wasn't a good time. She was still processing the fact that he loved her, she didn't need him to confuse her by blurting out that he would rather give Mirajane his headphones than not be a part of his child's, and equally important, Lucy's life. He felt her hand in his hair, and it reminded him of some not so innocent moments they'd shared.

"A bowl of rice would be sufficient for now," Lucy said, rousing him from his memories.

He gave her a bowl of the leftover rice. Although it was uncharacteristic of her, it was also a reminder of the life growing within her. He didn't want her to go home, he realized.

"I can make more if you're still hungry," he offered.

"No, that was enough. Thanks. I'll head back home now, and we can meet up for dinner again." Lucy said while standing up. He made his way over to her in long strides and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her possessively.

"Stay for tonight." he requested quietly.

"Well, maybe just for tonight. I do have to go home eventually if only to get my things." she warned him.

"Fine." he agreed, scooping her up bridal style. He had carried her up to the second floor before she said anything.

"You have a bathroom on the second floor, right?" she asked.

"Yes. Why?" he asked as he carried her through one of the doorways.

"Oh, you know. The joys of making another human being can be really rough in the morning." She joked.

"Ah. While I think it's good that you want to know more about our house, I think you should concentrate a little more on the present." He replied while setting her down on her feet. He let her take in the room while watching her thoughtfully. She was so fucking beautiful, he thought unconsciously reaching out and running his hands down her arms. Her skin was so soft beneath his calloused fingertips. She turned to look at him and held his gaze before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his head down to hers for a kiss. Whatever you want, he thought, though he knew that he also felt the need to be closer to her. How could she do these things to him, and yet not remember that night at all? He let himself go, finally putting all his feelings into his touch and kisses. Things were escalating quickly, just like last time.

"Laxus wait." she breathed, and he lifted his head from her neck.

"For what?" he drawled, then kissed her nose.

"Can we wait until we're married to go any further than this?" she asked, with her legs still wrapped around his waist. The sentiment was very sweet, considering he could tell by the look in her eyes, the flush on her face, and her overall body language that she was fighting herself.

"What's one week?" he said, laying her on the bed and unhooking her ankles from around his waist. He moved to the drawers below the bed and retrieved a large purple shirt. He handed it to her before disappearing into the bathroom. It would be far more modest than what she was wearing, anyway. He wasn't that strong. He stripped and stepped into the shower.

Could he hope that Lucy loved him, or that she would still love him when she remembered everything? He felt a bit of pity for her. It must be so confusing for her, the way her body reacted to his when her mind hadn't caught up. If he was kind to her, she would eventually catch up? He let himself laugh quietly at her earlier joke, letting it fill his chest with warmth even as the cold shower water hit his skin relentlessly. He made sure to dry himself off thoroughly when he'd finished, and put on the pants he'd been wearing earlier.

When he re-entered the bedroom, she was laying in the bed wearing the shirt. This was enough for now, he understood suddenly. She was here, within his reach at last. He crawled under the sheets with her, and kissed the back of her ear before wrapping one arm around her waist. He let his hand rest on her abdomen, and felt a peacefulness he had been craving for a long time. His small family was here, and at least for now, that was enough.


	26. Chapter 26

The next morning Laxus woke up first. She was fast asleep next to him, and he limited himself to placing a quick kiss on the bridge of her nose before he escaped for yet another cold shower. When he'd finished with the bathroom, he didn't even manage to get out a morning greeting before she walked into it and locked the door behind her. Having a conversation through the door was not how he'd wanted to spend that morning, but she eventually convinced him to meet her at the guild hall and leave her. He left her a key on the kitchen table before reluctantly heading to the guild alone.

As he walked along the road, he found that much of Magnolia was now aware of his engagement. This would make things easier, he surmised. Planning a wedding in one week was going to be an undertaking, and he didn't want Lucy to overwork herself. So when the people around town congratulated him, he returned polite greetings and managed to get some advice on wedding planning in a short amount of time. One of the women remarked that the most difficult thing would be getting the clothing tailored. He had to admit that neither he nor Lucy had very average clothing measurements.

Before he even had a chance to enter the guild, he was ambushed by Evergreen.

"Did she punch you yet?" she asked.

"Not yet, but I will make sure to tell her to wait to do so until you are there to see it." Laxus replied smartly. He stopped walking, remembering that thing Lucy had asked him about. "Oh. Ever – I know you're still mad at me, but could you run an errand for me?"

"You don't look that busy." She replied, crossing her arms.

"It's just that it's something that needs to be done very discreetly, and I seem to be attracting a lot of attention right now." Laxus explained. Evergreen didn't look impressed, but he leaned over to whisper in her ear exactly what he needed her to buy. Her face turned red.

"W-w-what?!" she exclaimed.

"It's for Lucy, if that makes any difference." He said, trying to appeal to whatever protective nature she'd felt for the celestial mage yesterday.

"Fine." She agreed, if only because it seemed like a wise idea. She decided not to warn Laxus about the guild as her revenge for him asking her to do such a menial task.

As a result Laxus spent the morning irritated. The entire guild had degraded to the maturity of a five year old now that they were sober. If someone made one more 'key to Lucy's heart' joke, he was going to seriously lose his temper. The only reason that he hadn't left was that he was still waiting for Lucy to arrive.

Elsewhere, Evergreen had set about her task to buy books. She wasn't stupid, so she'd disguised herself as best she could before going to the biggest book shop in Magnolia. She figured she'd attract more attention at a smaller shop as opposed to one full of people. What she hadn't planned for was how many books there were about pregnancy, childbirth, and infant care. Laxus hadn't been very specific about what he wanted her to buy. She stood in front of the shelf; frozen. When a shop assistant tried to help her, she panicked and asked for one of everything with a false bravado. The shop had offered to deliver it because it was such a large order, and she absentmindedly wrote her own address down instead of Laxus'. She didn't even realize her mistake until she'd already left the shop.

She rushed to get to her apartment in Fairy Hill before a certain Strauss sibling got there first. She practically kicked down her own door and found that she was too late. Elfman was already there, pretending to be comfortable in the tallest of her armchairs. Since they'd returned to Magnolia, discovery of their relationship was more likely if they met outside, so they would meet at her place from time to time.

"You," she hissed through clenched teeth. "you need to go." Elfman looked surprised at her unusually spiteful reception.

"You invited me last week. What's wrong?" he asked, raising one white eyebrow. Evergreen squeezed her thighs together, remembering that he was right. She was wearing a particularly sexy lingerie set underneath her pastel pink dress, and she'd had big plans now that her period was over. She inwardly cursed Laxus and hoped that Cana teased him to death at the guild hall. Now that she thought about it, Lucy was probably in on it. Her hands tightened into fists at her sides. Why was her love life being disrupted by a pair of idiots who had failed to use precautions? Elfman had seen the tension building in her, and approached her while she was cursing everyone she thought was now in on the big plan to ruin her rendezvous. He began to rub her shoulders, and after resisting for a minute she gave in.

"No, really Elfman. I have a delivery coming and you can't be here." She said, relaxing even as she said it.

"Do you want me to come back later?" he asked quietly, licking the outer shell of her ear. Her knees became weak at his attentions. It would take them at least half an hour to put all the books together for her, and then they'd have to deliver it.

"You're a beast." She complained weakly, turning to face him. "We need to make this quick." He leaned over to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. As their kiss deepened to include their battling tongues, he lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. When he gently laid her on the bed, she immediately stripped out of her dress before he had a chance to ruin it by tearing yet another zipper. Elfman was not gentle with clothes. He raked his blue eyes over her form appreciatively, removing his own clothing. She was wearing a green corset embroidered with small pink and yellow flowers and a matching pink pair of lacy shorts. The lacy material of her panties left very little to the imagination because of how sheer they were. When he made a motion to hook his fingers in them and pull them down, she kicked at his stomach.

"I thought you wanted to be quick?" he asked.

"Do you know how long it took me to pick this out?! At least look at it a little more!" she chastised him angrily.

"Alright, alright." He replied, kneeling on the floor at the foot of the bed where she was sitting. He lifted one of her slender legs up onto his shoulder and began kissing along the inside of her leg. Starting from her ankle, he kept his eyes locked on hers until he disappeared between her thighs.

Much later, Evergreen was laying fully naked and recovering in her bed. At some point she must have dozed off, because the sounds of the door brought her back to consciousness. She rubbed her eyes, and nearly jumped when she heard Elfman drop something really heavy on her floor. She moved into the next room stark naked at lightning speed to yell at him about minding the noise he was making when she saw the stack of books sitting on the floor between them. It made for quite the scene, and Elfman kept looking between her and the books. Realization dawned on her after a long awkward pause.

"They're not mine!" she shrieked, pointing at the offending books. A book about breastfeeding infants was sitting on top, of all things.

"Isn't this the delivery you were waiting for?" he asked. She inwardly swore.

"They aren't for me! I got them for L- Bickslow!" she said, catching herself in time. The last thing she needed to do was spill the beans to Mirajane's brother.

"What?" he asked blankly. She didn't know what was going through Elfman's mind, and she didn't want to know.

"He has a... a fetish." She answered weakly. It didn't sound very convincing, and she knew it the moment she said it.

"Right. Well, a man doesn't make a woman talk about her problems if she doesn't want to." He said, still staring blankly between her and the books.

"I'm not pregnant!" she screamed, throwing her arms up into the air.

"I know. I'm just going to leave so 'your friend' can read these." He said, disappearing out the door before she had a chance to intervene.

"Wait! Elfman!" she cried, running to the door. She stopped short when she remembered that she was still naked. Pulling on her clothing, she swore that she was going to rip Laxus a new one for this. Maybe she'd go yell at Lucy too for good measure. She stopped at the door, holding the handle. For the first time, she was afraid to go to the guild hall. Oh gods, what if Mira picked up on what was bothering Elfman? She stood there, and released the door handle. Maybe she would just stay here and wait for things to cool down. Going back to the guild to tear into Laxus and Lucy could wait for a few hours.

About ten minutes before Lucy arrived at the guild, Elfman walked up to the bar in a daze. He could tell that Mira was planning something super embarrassing to do to the newly engaged couple by the way she was smiling. He sighed heavily.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning her attention to him. He sighed again.

"Mira-nee, at what age should a man consider family planning?" he asked directly.

"What? Has all the love in the air infected you and a certain medusa?" she asked, her eyebrows shooting up so far that they nearly met her hairline.

"Huh? No! Nevermind!" he said, leaving the bar. He should have realized that it was a mistake to say anything to her. He thought he'd been vague enough. By the time that Lucy entered the guild, Mira was lost in her own creative imagination.

"Stop it! You guys are so embarrassing!" Lucy admonished their teasing guildmates. Laxus noted her irritation after only being in the guild hall for five seconds and he wanted to just break down and tell her how difficult it had been for him waiting there. There were things he'd never wanted to hear from his fellow guild mates and the key puns had gone some pretty tawdry places.

"Lucy." he greeted her neutrally. Cana was jeering at them, and Laxus realized that things were now twice as bad with Lucy being there. It wouldn't necessarily be out of character for him to pick her up and leave, but he got the distinct impression that Lucy was getting tired of it.

"Laxus, I need to do some things today. Could we meet up here around four thirty? We can go shopping then."

"Alright. I'll see you then." He agreed. It was a good enough reason to get out of the guild and see what was taking Evergreen so long with the books. Lucy caught him off guard with one of her impossibly bright smiles before quickly hugging him. She had already made her escape while he stood there, blushing. There was something almost embarrassing and yet endearing about her acknowledging him in public.

"Laxus and Lucy kissing in a tree, k-i-s-s" began a particularly annoying voice. He quickly located Cana, the great instigator of the teasing.

"Shut up!" he said, storming out of the guild hall.

He made it to Evergreen's apartment, and barely dodged a book thrown at his head the moment she opened the door.

"Laxus!" she yelled taking up battle position while standing next to a very tall pile of books. Laxus retrieved the book from the hallway and managed to get inside the apartment before she could throw any more.

"Whoa, how many did you buy?" he asked, and it only seemed to make her angrier.


	27. Chapter 27

It took Laxus a while to finally calm Evergreen down, though she wouldn't tell him why she was angry. He guessed that someone had seen her with the books and that she was embarrassed. The only way he could placate her was to remind her Lucy could give him a cute daughter. He made heavy implications that he would let her dress the child up once in a while. Although Evergreen wasn't very fond of children, she was fond of fairies and children were very easy to dress as fairies. As he carried the heavy stack of books to his house in a paper bag, he realized that he had promised two very devious people that he would have a daughter. He silently sent up a prayer to whatever deity was listening that he and Lucy would have a son.

Laxus had some time before he had agreed to meet up with Lucy, so he started sorting out the books into piles based on how relevant they were to him now. When he had finished, he carried the books up to the second floor and into the smaller bedroom he never used anymore. It was dusty, so he reminded himself he'd have to clean it at some point. Against one wall was a single bed and dresser randomly decorated with some childish stickers. He picked up one of the books about pregnancy out of the piles and sat back into a dusty rocking chair that he'd pulled out of storage. Before opening the book, he wondered if he should just buy all new furniture for what would become the baby's room. It was so surreal to him that in less than a year, he would need to renovate his childhood bedroom to accommodate his own child.

Would he be a good father? Would he be a good husband? Questions surrounded him in the quiet of the room as he began flipping through the book. It was a relevant book, and the first few chapters dealt with nutrition during pregnancy. He closed the book once he had a basic idea of what things Lucy should be eating, and meandered into his current bedroom. He opened the closet door and opened the bottom drawer of the dresser inside. Inside was a small velvet jewelry box that contained Lucy's engagement ring. He lifted the box and opened it, examining the ring inside. He would have to give it to her soon if they were going to have the wedding next week. He closed it and returned it to the drawer, looking at the only other item within. He had no idea when would be a good time to give Lucy back her underwear. It would be ideal if he didn't have to explain why he had them in the first place, assuming she remembered everything on her own. Even if she did remember, she'd still probably want to know why he'd kept them for so long.

Was it creepy to have them? Probably. He hadn't done it on purpose. The day after the party when he'd followed Lucy to the small guild hall, he had the presence of mind to go back and retrieve them before someone else found them. He had been planning to give them back right away, and then he'd heard those words: "Mira, what in the world happened last night? I feel awful." That's what Lucy had said, and he didn't want to admit how hurtful those words had been. There was no way for him to return the underwear without ruining his own chances with her. He was 'that' guy he thought as he closed the drawer. He was the guy who would hide things to make himself look better to get the girl. He'd always known that about himself and it hadn't bothered him until everything happened with Lucy. Now he had to hope that she would accept him despite all that. Not that it would stop him from pursuing her.

He closed the closet door and noticed that the afternoon was waning. He needed to walk back to the guild to meet Lucy soon. He lifted his hands and looked at them thoughtfully. He was taking Lucy whether or not she thought he was a good husband or would be a good father. As long as he tried to meet her expectations, did it really matter? She was his, and even if she didn't remember it, he was hers. He shook his head, and decided to let the matter go for now. For now, he was going to meet Lucy at the guild and take her shopping. He would learn more about her, and make it so she couldn't live without him.

When Laxus arrived at the guild, Lucy wasn't in the main hall. He saw Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed all sitting together so he joined them.

"I feel like more people are looking at us than usual." Freed commented, and Laxus had to agree. It wasn't just him this time either. Mira had her sharp eyes locked on Evergreen, and Laxus could guess why.

"Sorry Ever." He said. Evergreen seemed only to get angrier at his apology and excused herself before approaching Mira and asking her something.

"I wonder why Elfman is still looking over here. I feel like he's judging me somehow." Bickslow spoke after she had left.

"Maybe he thinks you're dating Evergreen or something and he's jealous." Laxus teased. The three men let the implication hang in the air for a minute before they all started laughing.

"As if!" Freed said between laughs.

"Have you seen Lucy?" Laxus asked when they had calmed down.

"She went into the library with Gajeel's pet a while ago." Bickslow informed him.

"The cat?" Laxus asked, raising his eyebrow. He couldn't imagine Lucy hanging out with Panther Lily.

"He has a cat?" Bickslow replied. At Laxus' confused expression, his puppets clarified for him. "The girl!".

"Oh, you mean his number one fan." Laxus said. Apparently everyone had different ideas of exactly what Levy was to Gajeel. Laxus was sure that Bickslow had a double meaning to his use of the word 'pet'. Though he may have been one of the dragon slayers, he couldn't really relate to the others. He suspected Gajeel just liked having someone pay attention to him and she seemed to give it to him in spades.

Laxus stood up and started to walk towards the library. He stopped when he saw Evergreen pass him with a very familiar grin. He had a sinking feeling that something really bad was about to happen to him. Before he had a chance to guess at what nasty thing Evergreen had planned for him, Lucy appeared.

"Lucy, are you ready to leave yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go!" She said while taking his arm. They left the guild amidst more cat calling, but Laxus was choosing to ignore them this time. So little time had passed, and yet she would do things like this. She was becoming more comfortable with him, and it was a nice change. As they shopped, he paid close attention to the things she picked out for herself. So she liked strawberry milk? That was so Lucy, he thought.

"I'm going upstairs to lay down for a bit. I'm just a bit tired." She said when they had arrived at his house. "Will you call me when dinner is ready?"

"Sure." He replied. He felt a bit smug that she trusted him to cook. His pride was short lived because as soon as he had finished chopping some vegetables and rinsing the rice when he realized something. He had no idea how to cook kale. The book had only said that it was a good dark green leafy vegetable and contained B vitamins that were good for mother and baby. He took a bite of one leaf and winced. It definitely wasn't something you'd eat in a salad, he decided. So was it something you boiled, steamed, or baked like brussel sprouts? Although any of those options would have been fine, he realized that he didn't even know if she'd liked the last dinner he had cooked. She had clearly been very hungry at the time. From what he had read in the book, most of the things he already ate were good for pregnant women but he wondered if she would find the food bland. Maybe he could fry the kale? He went through an old cook book in one of the cupboards and cursed inwardly. Apparently there were no recipes for kale. He could have just cooked it whatever way he wanted to, but he was still trying to make a good impression on Lucy. Learning more about her taste in food would only benefit him in the future.

He stood at the foot of the stairs for a few minutes before he finally went up them. He tried to be quiet in case she had already fallen asleep. If she was asleep, he would just leave her be. He opened the door and located her in his closet.

"Lucy, how do you cook kale?" he asked, and she turned to face him. She was standing there with his headphones hanging around her neck while holding her own panties in one hand. He felt a sense of dread wash over him. She finally met his eyes, and he felt as if all the air had been knocked out of him before she even spoke.

"Laxus... my Laxus." She said softly. Her words confirmed what he already knew from her eyes – his Lucy was back. The joy he felt was both overwhelming and brief, because he could almost feel her body tense up from where he stood. "What the hell Laxus?!" She certainly had a right to say this phrase again.

He moved forward in two smooth steps and scooped her up into his arms.

"I missed you." He said, positioning her so that he could kiss her. She bit his lip. Yes, this was his Lucy. His Lucy was savage and wild.

"At what point were you planning to tell me that this is your bun in my oven?!" she asked, struggling against him. He put her down, but she maintained contact by grabbing the front of his shirt. He smiled at her use of words.

"Did you really think it could be anyone else's?" he asked. "No, wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know."

"Laxus Dreyar, do you have any idea what I've been going through all this time thinking that you were too good to be true?" Lucy snarled, releasing his shirt. He snatched her hand and kissed her palm before she could pull it back.

"I'm not really a good guy. So I guess you're going to leave me then?" he asked, though he knew how she'd answer.

"You think I'm going to let you off after you purposely did this to me?" she said, pointing at her stomach.

"Whoa, hold on. What are you saying? Although it was preventable, I didn't get you pregnant on purpose." He said, raising his eyebrows.

"You bit me!" she said accusingly.

"What?" Understanding finally crossed her face, and she rested her face into her palm.

"You had no idea, did you?" she said, sighing. Taking his continued silence as confirmation, she continued: "That's how dragons make their mates fertile. So, in other words, when you bit me it was almost a certainty."

"Oh." Laxus replied simply. Lucy stamped her foot, back to feeling irritated.

"That's all you have to say? Not 'I'm sorry Lucy!'?!" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, I'm not really sorry." He replied. He sensed that she was getting angrier and that it was time once again to turn her around regardless of how fucking sexy she was when she was angry. "Lucy, we're having a baby. I can't be anything but happy right now, no matter what the circumstances." Lucy pouted, and realized he had an excellent point. He'd never told her to have this child, in fact, he had told her that she didn't have to. Even when she hadn't remembered everything, she had wanted this child. She laid her hand against her flat stomach thoughtfully. Would she and Laxus have found each other if it hadn't been for that night? Based on his previous behaviour, she could easily assume that he never would have approached her on his own. She would have never known how he'd felt about her, and she probably would never have gotten closer to him.

"Well, I can't fault you for loving our child." She said, pouting. He picked up the hint from the words she left unsaid.

"How could I not love this baby? It's half you, and I love you." He said, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"You idiot." She replied quietly, as tears started falling down her cheeks.

"This again," he said, pulling her to sit beside him on the bed. "is this just a thing that you do or is it the pregnancy?"

"How would I know?" she said, leaning on his shoulder as he wrapped one arm around her.


	28. Chapter 28 (explicit content)

Lucy was finally feeling comfortable again when Laxus stood up suddenly.

"Give me one minute," he said, placing her hands over her eyes.

"Okay." She heard him close his dresser drawer and the closet door.

"You can look now." He said, and she let her hands fall into her lap. Her heart sped up to an incredible speed, because he was kneeling in front of her with the jewelry box opened. It was the jewelry box she'd seen in the drawer, and inside it was an engagement ring. "Marry me?" He asked it almost casually, so much so that she wanted to hit him. However, Lucy blushed. She hadn't realized Laxus was the type of man to kneel in front of her with an engagement ring, so the whole experience was surreal. His eyes bore into her, and she found it hard to speak.

"Yes." She said quietly. Laxus took her left hand in his and slipped the ring on her finger.

"You'll be wearing a different ring soon." He said, standing up.

"When did you buy this?" she asked, thinking back over the past few days.

"The day before we went to Porlyusica's house." He said before leaning over to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. He sat on the bed again and lifted her feet into his lap. He removed her socks and began to brush his calloused fingers over the soles of her feet. She moaned, and laid back onto the bed. She thought back over the past week and her encounters with Laxus. They certainly didn't know how to do anything in the right order, did they? He focused his attentions on her right ankle next, massaging the muscles in her leg as he continued moving upwards. When his finger tips brushed lightly against the back of her knee, she let out a breath and realized that things were going in a very sensual direction. What a scheming devil, she thought. She shivered when she felt his fingers brushing gently against her inner thigh.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked, briefly remembering why he had come upstairs to talk to her in the first place. She felt his tongue trace over the bundle of nerves behind her knee, and she nearly kicked him.

"I sure am." He replied gruffly. Lucy had no idea that words could be this powerful.

"What about dinner?" she tried again. Holding back all this time was taking its toll on her now, because his gentle touches and even his words were doing incredible things to her.

"I want to have my dessert first." He said suggestively, letting his fingers dance across her abdomen before leaning down between her legs and tracing the earlier path of his fingers with his tongue.

"Oh, Laxus," She said breathlessly. "What about your promise?"

"This doesn't count. I'm just getting a taste of you." Lucy had neither the resolve nor a good enough reason to deny him. Though they had made a baby together, there were so many things they had yet to experience, and she was eagerly looking forward to it.

When she felt his fingers brushing along her panties, she wriggled impatiently. She moved so that she could remove the underwear herself and threw them haphazardly to the floor while he laughed under his breath. He gently traced her outer lips with his thumb appreciatively and she reached down to touch his hair. He surprised her by grabbing her hand and taking one of her finger tips into his mouth. He grazed his teeth along her fingertip so gently that it tickled, but she was getting entirely different feelings from the sensation. She watched in a daze as he released her hand. She threw her head back into the blankets when she felt his tongue explore her hot core, delving deep inside of her. It was such a gentle experience compared to the last time, yet her arousal was as strong as ever. It had been so long since the last time that she came quickly. She reached down and tugged on his head, panting.

"More, I need more." She begged. She wanted him to fill her so badly, but he grinned deviously as he replaced his tongue with only one finger. He worked his way back up her body and pulled up her shirt with his free hand. She shifted, eagerly and clumsily releasing the clasp of her bra so he could pull it out of his way and take one rosy nipple into his mouth. She squeezed his shoulders, and he rewarded her by adding a second finger as he thrust into her while teasing her breasts. She could feel his hardness against her leg and she growled, moving her leg to rub against it. He added a third finger, and with one swift thrust she was sent over the edge. Her muscles clamped down hard on his fingers and he swore between his teeth. She pushed him onto his back and began to tear away at his clothing and he obliged by removing them. She positioned herself so that his warm member was at her entrance, and felt him lift her away.

"Nope. You can touch it with your hand if you want to." She growled at him again, leaving shallow scratches as she let her hands wander across his chest. She was somewhat curious about this hardened organ that had so easily impregnated her. As she wrapped her hand around it, she wondered how she had ever made such a thing fit inside herself. Like every other part of Laxus' body, it had some serious girth. She licked her bottom lip, looking closer at it. He caught the look in her eyes and grabbed her shoulders to keep her still. She looked up at him with her deceptively innocent brown eyes, but he was not fooled.

"Just a taste, isn't that what you said?" she said, stroking his shaft with her hand. He groaned and released her shoulders. She shyly licked the tip of his cock, and he buried his clenching hands in the bed sheets. He hadn't really wanted to give her the upper hand this time, but it was only fair play. As she circled his head with her lips and took more of him into her mouth, he gasped.

"If you're not careful, you're going to get more than just a taste." He warned. She lifted her mouth so that she was only holding the tip in her mouth again and licked the sensitive underside of his cock. He suppressed a sigh when she removed her mouth from his member entirely.

"That's fine," she said while continuing to stroke his shaft with her hand. "I'd like to taste it, this potent semen of yours."

"Fuck." He swore. He groaned as she took his cock back in her mouth with renewed vigor. She couldn't fit the whole thing in her mouth, so she chose to take in what she could while stroking the base with her hand. Laxus had closed his eyes and had a concentrated look on his face, and she could tell based on his breathing that he was close to cumming. The next time she had just the tip in her mouth, she licked the underside again and then sucked as hard as she could without grazing him with her teeth. "Lucy!" She was caught off guard when he came hard inside her mouth and swallowed instinctively. She crawled up to lay beside him, and kissed his cheek while he tried to catch his breath. She'd never seen him out of breath – it was a nice look for him.

It was a while before Lucy realized that she was still wearing his headphones around her neck and that she had dropped her panties in the middle of the floor. Now there were two pairs on the floor. She laid next to him in the bed, and some idle thoughts floated into her mind.

"Hey Laxus, when did you start liking me anyway? Was it all because of the magic?" she asked. He grunted, sounding affronted. He turned on his side to look at her.

"Of course not. Do you remember when we were all holding hands on Tenrou island?" he asked.

"Yeah." She answered uncertainly.

"You were standing there across from me, and it was like you were a whole different person than I remembered. I thought it might be nice if I could have been next to you." He admitted bashfully.

"I know that feeling. I was happy when you showed up on the Grimoire Heart's airship to save us, but it was the moment you gave your power to Natsu that really surprised me. The old Laxus wouldn't have done that. Even after that, you kept changing before my eyes and at some point I realized that you were a pretty amazing person." Lucy began. "You became so strong that I had to notice you." Laxus was quiet for a while.

"Well thanks for noticing." He finally said, sitting up. Lucy momentarily entertained the thought that maybe he'd been trying to show off to her, and dismissed it. That would truly be ridiculous. She let herself admire his sculpted back and other assets as he stood up from the bed and began to put his clothes back on. She sighed, and he turned to look at her while he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Too bad we can't get married tomorrow." She said.

"What's your hurry? It's going to be hard enough putting together a proper wedding ceremony in less than a week's time." He asked. She groaned and rolled around the bed before answering him.

"Laxus, have you ever seen yourself naked?" she complained. He blushed under her appraisal of his body and looked away.

"It's not like this has been easy for me. Besides, you're the one who wanted to wait." He said pointedly. She stared at him thoughtfully.

"Maybe I've changed my mind." She replied. "Now come back to bed."

"Maybe I want to wait." Lucy's eyes widened.

"Are you... a romantic, Laxus?" she asked in utter disbelief. She rolled onto her stomach so she could look him over. She'd said it jokingly, but his serious expression made her wonder if she had guessed correctly.

"What's so bad about waiting? I want my bride to be so wrapped up in desire for me that she can't look anywhere else." Lucy sighed deeply. Her husband-to-be was truly a devil. Was this revenge for her taking charge the first time? "Don't sigh. When I take you home as my wife, I will fuck you so well and thoroughly that you can't remember your own name." A shiver moved through her body, and she felt warmth pooling in her stomach.

"You're such a jerk. I love you." She replied affectionately.

"I know. Now do you know how to cook kale or not?"


	29. Chapter 29

The next few days passed by faster than Lucy expected them to. Although it was still difficult to resist each other when they were alone at night, she found herself quite exhausted after spending entire days running around putting the wedding together. There were times she got a little stressed out, and maybe she had done things to deal with it, but Laxus remained steadfast on his promise not to have 'proper' sex until the wedding.

There were so many details involved in wedding planning that she almost wished she had more time. The first thing she'd had trouble with was acquiring a dress. She doubted any tailor would have agreed to the short time period if it hadn't been for the fact that the townspeople were very eager to be a part of the wedding just so they could gossip about it to one another.

Then there was the hassle of choosing bridesmaids. Erza had dropped some really blatant hints. Lucy had no idea the woman owned so many dresses until that was all she started wearing to the guild.

"Hey Lucy, what do you think of this dress?" she said while equipping the purple dress she had worn for their beach trip before their troubles with the tower.

"Um, it's nice?" Lucy replied. Erza looked at her seriously before nodding.

"Yes, you're right. It's a bit too sexy. Oh!" she turned and equipped her lightning empress armour next. "This one really matches the theme of the couple, right?" Lucy didn't immediately respond, and looked at her thoughtfully.

"Blue might be nice." She said.

"What are you up to now?" Natsu asked, joining them. He looked over Erza's armour appreciatively in his own way. "Fight me!"

"Not now Natsu, we're choosing the maid of honour dress." Erza dismissed him. Lucy decided not to tell Erza that she had actually been planning to ask Levy to be her maid of honour. The red haired woman was already far too serious about it and Levy would probably understand.

"What's a maid of honour?" Natsu asked, though he looked bored of the topic already.

"That's the position of the bride's best friend." Erza said with pride. Lucy could already see where this was going and pre-emptively started rubbing her temples.

"WHAT?! I'm Lucy's best friend!" Natsu yelled while jumping up onto the table. Lucy sighed. "Fight me!"

"Natsu!" Lucy shrieked to get his attention. He winced at her tone. "The maid of honour is supposed to be a maid – as in a lady." Natsu looked crestfallen.

"Why?" he asked, locking onto her with the saddest eyes he could produce.

"Well, for one reason, the maid of honour wears a dress that either matches or complements the other bridesmaids." Lucy said, deciding to take the simple and direct approach.

"Is there any reason I can't wear a dress as a symbol of our friendship?" Natsu asked. Lucy gaped at him, realizing that she didn't have a very good answer for that.

"You could be one of Laxus' groomsmen," Evergreen said, appearing suddenly. The disgusted look on Natsu's face combined with a distant 'fuck no!' from a certain blonde man across the guild made it pretty clear that this wasn't a good solution. "- or not." Lucy looked at the pretty brunette for a minute before wondering if she looked a little more dressed up than usual. The suggestion had been pretty stupid, but Lucy narrowed her eyes while trying to think what she had actually meant by it. Evergreen cleared her throat. "I look good in any colour. I know, I'm blessed!". Lucy continued to stare at the slightly older woman even though she now knew exactly what she was trying to say. She didn't dislike Evergreen, but it bothered her a whole lot more when she would drape her arms around Laxus than when Freed did it. However, she still owed Evergreen for that time with the books. She sighed quite deeply.

"Would you like to be one of my bridesmaids?" she finally conceded.

"I suppose I could do you a favour since you're Laxus' woman now." She said laughing. Lucy blushed, and decided that maybe Evergreen wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she'd noticed that Lucy was feeling insecure about her hanging around Laxus? The Thunder God Tribe could be a rude bunch at times, but she supposed they couldn't be all bad since they were keeping her pregnancy secret.

"LUCY-!" Natsu protested. She nearly jumped, having forgotten about him. "she's not even your friend!" Lucy rolled her eyes. Of course Evergreen had to make everything worse and then just waltz away. Just then, Erza pulled Lucy aside and whispered something in her ear. Lucy's eyes widened and she looked at her friend with renewed admiration.

"You're right. Okay, for that alone I will make you my maid of honour." Lucy said, grinning widely. "Hey Natsu, come take a walk with me."

She waited until they had put some distance between themselves and the guild before speaking.

"You know Natsu, there's another really important job that I was saving for you." Lucy said, and he perked up.

"Really?" he asked.

"Would you give me away in my father's place?" she asked. Natsu looked like he was really considering it, and many emotions crossed his face.

"No." He replied shortly, surprising her.

"What – why?" she asked.

"I'm not giving you to Laxus. He takes up all your spare time so that you never sleep at home anymore and it gets lonely. If that wasn't bad enough, now he wants to marry you and make you have a bunch of kids. I feel like if I give you away, I'll never see you again." Natsu said pouting. Lucy decided not to address the fact that he was still sleeping in her bed, and tackle the sentiment head on.

"Natsu, I'm not going to disappear forever. Besides, I'm probably going to get pretty lonely when Laxus goes on missions and I have to stay with the baby." Natsu looked surprised.

"I thought you were just going to take it with us on missions." Natsu replied. Lucy's jaw dropped open when she realized he was completely serious. "If you give birth to it, then the baby is technically part of Team Natsu." He elaborated, apparently thinking that she just didn't understand the logistics.

"I – that's insane. Romeo didn't go on missions with Macao." Lucy said. Natsu thought about it.

"Yeah, but I bet Romeo wishes he had. I'm gonna be the cool uncle!" Natsu beamed. Lucy stared at him. She tried to refocus herself on the bigger issue at hand here: Natsu missed her.

"What if we spend the entire day and night before the wedding just hanging out? After the wedding, Laxus and I will be uhm... busy for a little while, so we can have fun before that." She offered. When he didn't immediately agree, she realized that she needed to sweeten the deal. "Because it'll be the last time, you and Happy can sleep in the bed with me."

"Deal!" Natsu agreed. "My dress is going to be the best-"

"Please don't wear a dress. Just wear a suit or something nice." Lucy cut him off. The last thing she needed was a three way battle of dresses between Grey, Erza, and Natsu. Natsu hugged her, and it was nice because she really hadn't seen him that much.

"Ugh, you smell like Laxus. What does he do, rub himself on you before you leave the house like a cat?" Natsu said, frowning.

"Are you in a position to say that?" she asked as he began rubbing his face on the top of her head. Why did she have to fall in love with a dragon slayer? They had the weirdest habits. She was sure Laxus was going to comment about this later.


	30. Chapter 30

Unsurprisingly, Laxus was not happy with Lucy's promise to spend the day before their wedding with Natsu.

"Laxus, I don't think you can complain about this. After we get married, I'm fairly certain that you're going to lock me up in your weird sex dungeon until we run out of food. Don't you think it's fair that I should get to spend a day with my friends?" she asked, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Do I look like a fair person to you?" Laxus replied slowly taking off his shirt. She bit down on her lower lip while her eyes traced a familiar path along his chest tattoo that her hands now knew very well. Damn him! He was doing this on purpose!

"You can't spell fairy tail without 'fair'." She mumbled, averting her gaze and hoping that her brain would reboot with something a lot better to follow up with. He laughed, and her heart fluttered.

"I let you go for one walk and you came back with his smell all over you. Who knows what he thinks he can get away with if he had a whole day?" Lucy raised one eyebrow.

"Are you... jealous?" she asked.

"No, I'm just responding to a challenge over what's mine."

"Most people would call that jealousy." Lucy said, smiling coyly. Laxus grunted and laid back onto the bed. She followed and lay next to him, letting her cool fingertips dance over his chest. Realizing that he wasn't going to answer her anymore out of stubbornness, she had to take the next step. "Would you like it if I started following you around and challenging Evergreen?". He was silent, and a blush crept across his face unexpectedly.

"...maybe." he said so quietly that she almost missed it. She grimaced at him, digging one fingernail into his chest. "It's not like that with Evergreen. It never was." She removed her nails from his chest slowly.

"Oh, so you just want me to follow you around?" she said, still annoyed. He took her hand and kissed her palm gently before placing it on his cheek.

"Is there something wrong with wanting to spend more time with you?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers. Men were incredibly complicated creatures, Lucy decided. They all seemed awfully dull and then they would just say a line like that so that you couldn't say anything back. She decided to ignore the question since it was obviously rhetorical. He wanted her to kiss him, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction – yet.

"I didn't think I needed to say this out loud, but here we are. Laxus Dreyar, first you bit me and got me pregnant, and then you decided to marry me in an incredibly public way. I really don't think anyone hasn't noticed that you and I are serious about each other. Natsu is to me like how Freed is to you. You wouldn't mess around with Freed, right?" He made a face that Lucy had to concentrate on not laughing at, and she knew that she had gotten her point across.

"Are you going to stay with Natsu's team?" he asked at last.

"Yes. I'd like to take some time off to raise our child though." Lucy answered honestly. So Laxus had really thought she might join the Thunder God Tribe – she forgot that this man was in his mid twenties. She felt like she was dealing with a five year old sometimes, though it was a sign of his trust in her. He was laying his insecurities out for her, the least she could do was address him seriously.

"That makes sense." She didn't know how, but she could almost hear his inner monologue.

"Do not think that is a good reason to just fill me with babies for the rest of our lives." She warned him.

"I wasn't thinking about that." He said while looking away. "I guess you want to keep going on missions before the baby is born then." Lucy pursed her lips, taken aback at his sudden change in attitude. Only ten minutes before they had been arguing about her spending the day with her best friend and now he was trying to be reasonable about her career as a mage? She supposed he understood her love of magic better than he understood her relationship with Natsu, since he must also have loved magic in order to acquire such advanced skills.

"I'd like to, if I can. I'm not going to overexert myself though. Also, I think we should have a honeymoon and take some time to ourselves right after the wedding. I want to get to know you better." She replied. He surprised her by pulling her face down to kiss him. She broke the kiss before it could get too heated. "You don't really have a sex dungeon, do you?"

"Sure, want to see it?" he asked, smiling mischievously. She could see the laughter in his eyes and she slapped his shoulder.

"Don't joke about sex dungeons." She said pouting. He sat up before getting up from the bed and offering her a hand.

"Come with me, I want to show you something." Lucy sure as hell hoped that he did not have a sex dungeon for some petty reasons: it would imply that other women had been inside this house and she still wasn't ready to admit that Laxus had probably seen other women before her based on his bedroom skills. She put her hand in his and followed him, feeling anxious. He led her to the door next to his bedroom that she had never questioned. She felt a heaviness in her stomach and prayed to all the stellar spirits that she was not about to walk into a sex dungeon. The location would certainly have been convenient. He opened the door, and she squeezed her eyes shut in denial. She felt him guide her into a chair, and it was comfortable. It rocked too, which was pretty soothing. What in Magnolia was this chair used for? She finally opened one eye and then the other. Her fears had been entirely unfounded. What she found was a fairly common looking bedroom, and based on the stickers on the dresser and the single bed frame she could guess it had been a child's room once. She looked down at the chair she was now instinctively rocking in, and realized that it was literally just an old rocking chair. On the dresser were some stacks of books with book marks and page markers sticking out.

"This is..." she began.

"It's going to be our nursery." For whatever reason, the words almost moved her to tears. She stood from the chair and flung herself into his arms so that he wouldn't see that she was crying again.

"Laxus, it's wonderful." She choked out as he held her and stroked her hair. He was getting better at dealing with her emotional outbursts, she realized, and it only made her cry harder.

"I want to decorate it with you. I'll buy whatever furniture you want. I have some old things in the basement, but I don't know if we should use it." Lucy managed to stop crying at last and rubbed her cheek against his chest thoughtfully. This mundane Laxus was hers. It didn't matter if he'd had women before her, because this man was entirely hers. The man who made her peppermint tea and wanted to build a nursery with her was for Lucy alone.

"It's going to be fucking amazing when we're done with it." She punched him suddenly, though it hurt her more than it hurt him.

"You have seriously got to learn to stop swearing in the next eight months." She said, the reality of it all coming to her now that they were standing in this room.

"Shit, you're right. The book said that at a certain stage the baby can hear voices outside the womb." He said, and she realized that although he was well read on the matter he had a long way to go. "Fuck."

"Oh stars..." Lucy added.


	31. Chapter 31

Her day with Natsu began normally enough with a walk to Yajima's restaurant, 8-Island, in Hargeon.

"Where are we going?" she asked when they had finished eating.

"One teeny, tiny, mission." Natsu said. Instead of getting angry, she burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay, what's the mission?" she asked. He stopped walking and gestured to a classy hotel next to them.

"This way." He said, leading her inside. The man at the front desk merely nodded at them as they moved further into the hotel. She began to fidget when Natsu pulled out a key and opened a large door to a very dark room. He gently nudged her in, and closed the door behind them. What was going on? Why had Natsu brought her here? What was this mission?

"Surprise!" said a chorus of voices, and many lights flickered on at once. All her close friends from Fairy Tail were there, and it was weird to see them anywhere that wasn't the guild hall.

"Why are you all here?" she asked, puzzled. Natsu laid one warm arm over her shoulder.

"Welcome to your bachelorette party!" he said brightly. She blinked at him, and realized that Natsu was a lot smarter than she gave him credit for sometimes. She hugged him.

"Thank you!" she said, then turned to the rest of the room. "Thank you everyone!"

"We had to hold your party out of town because there was no way Laxus was going to let us throw you a bachelorette party." Mira said giggling.

"Isn't he going to be suspicious that all of you aren't at the guild right now?" Lucy asked, raising one blond eyebrow critically.

"The master closed the guild today to get it ready for the wedding tomorrow. Laxus is pretty smart though, even with the Thunder God Tribe running interference he might still figure it out though."

"In that case, let's start the drinking now!" Cana yelled, though it was clear that she already had. Mira passed her a sparkling pink drink, and she looked at it thoughtfully. Before she could awkwardly ask what it was, Natsu smelled it and took it out of her hands before draining it.

"I thought you said you didn't want to drink anymore." He said, winking at her. Lucy had never loved Natsu more than she did in that moment. The emotion must have shown on her face because she heard Erza stomp over.

"Stop cozying up to the bride! I'm the maid of honour. I'll drink whatever she doesn't want!" the red head complained. Lucy stifled a giggle and moved over to the side of the room that had a large couch. She sat next to Levy, who was being ribbed about her feelings towards a certain dragon slayer by a drunken Cana.

"Hey Levy," Lucy said. "how are things going?"

"Fine, though I have to say I was surprised by your choice of colour for the bridesmaid dresses."

"Yeah, well it will have a really good effect. I've grown incredibly fond of the colour blue lately." She said while blushing.

"Lucy, are you really happy though?" Natsu asked taking the seat next to her on her other side.

"Yeah, you never answered us last time!" Happy reminded her as he landed on her shoulder. It felt like it had been so long that she couldn't remember what exact question she hadn't answered.

"I am... surprisingly happy." She replied.

"It's just that you haven't even summoned Crux or even that weird dog thing lately. So I worried..." Natsu replied. Lucy blushed and took a deep breath.

"There's a very good reason for that." She replied. "Since we went to see them that one time, I realized that they probably talk to each other over there and there's one person that I don't have the energy to deal with yet."

Natsu, with a new drink in hand that had been intended for Lucy, nodded.

"You mean L-" Happy started before she clapped her hand over his tiny mouth.

"Don't say it! He knows how to show up even if I don't call him!" Lucy warned.

"Lucy is popular!" the blue exceed said happily.

"Lucy is practically a married woman though." Juvia replied, leaning over the back of the couch. Lucy sighed.

"Juvia, I hope that this is enough proof that I am not your love rival." Lucy said although she understood Juvia's feeling a lot better now. She didn't want to be jealous of Evergreen, but sometimes her feelings got away from her. She had a special trick for that now. Whenever she worried about Laxus, she would just remember him telling her about the nursery.

"Lucy will throw the bouquet to Juvia, right?" Juvia said hopefully. Lucy didn't think it was fair to agree, especially not when Levy was right next to her.

"Haha, well I don't think you need the bouquet." Lucy answered. "Things started going really well with Grey at the Grand Magic Games, right?"

"Ah, is that how you and Laxus started dating?" Levy broke into the conversation. Lucy became aware of the rest of the party becoming quiet out of interest in her answer. She hadn't discussed this with Laxus at all – there was no way she could tell her friends the truth. Natsu seemed particularly interested as well. She tried to very quickly think of when would have been a good time to say that they started dating. There was that battle with Flare Corona and Laxus. She didn't want to sound like they were rushing to get married though, or else she might as well just announce her pregnancy right there and then. Lucy cleared her throat.

"Just before we left for the grand magic games, Laxus asked me out to dinner." She lied. She could tell Natsu and Happy didn't believe her, but everyone else seemed to go for it.

"That makes so much sense!" Erza burst out. Lucy smiled, deciding that it did sort of make sense. "I wondered why he changed his hair style."

"Levy, let's dance!" Lucy said, pulling her blue haired friend after her to the dancing area. The less questions she had to answer, the better. At some point Mira had turned off the music and started playing her electric guitar and singing.

"Can I break in?" said an unfamiliar voice, and Lucy turned to look.

"Bacchus?! Why are you here?" Lucy asked, indulging his request.

"Cana invited me!" he said as they started to dance. Lucy glanced over at Cana critically and considered teasing the other woman as pay back.

"I'm going to beat him this time in a drinking contest – I've been training!" Cana said overconfidently. So things like this really did happen where two adversaries would become friends though challenging each other. She doubted Gildarts was going to like this.

Mira stopped singing suddenly, and Lucy stopped dancing to look at her.

"The stripper is here!" she said into her microphone before playing an entirely different type of music. Lucy and nearly every other person fixed their eyes on Grey expectantly.

"What? What are you all looking at?" he asked, oblivious to the fact that he was already in his boxers.

"I can strip better than you can!" Natsu said from somewhere nearby before Lucy saw his vest fly through the air and land on Erza's head. Lucy ran to Natsu and started shaking him.

"Natsu! Don't you dare become a weird pervert like that guy!" Lucy said.

"Gee thanks Lucy," Grey said walking over to where they were. "but I'm pretty sure that guy over there is supposed to be the stripper."

Lucy turned to look and saw an older man with short black hair and turquoise eyes. She stared for a few minutes while thinking he looked familiar. Particularly the cross shaped scar on his cheek...

"Who is that?" she asked Natsu and Grey quietly.

"Doesn't he work with the magic council?" Grey answered. Lucy was a little disappointed by the choice in strippers, not that she had even wanted one, since Mest wasn't nearly as attractive as Laxus. Then he actually started and she became keenly aware that stripping was a lot more artful than what Grey usually did.

"He's not bad." Grey remarked.

"Laxus is going to kill him – Grey put something on!" Lucy said, realizing that the ice mage was now stark naked.

"About that, the master said he had a special skill that would protect him." Erza answered.


	32. Chapter 32

Lucy managed to talk to everyone and dance to a few songs before Natsu was stone drunk having drunk every alcoholic beverage for her. She excused herself early and headed back to Magnolia with Happy and Natsu. It was pretty late by the time she got home, and Happy had been a huge help with carrying the pink haired mage for portions of the trip. Happy dumped the half conscious dragon slayer onto her bed where he scrambled under the cover like it was natural.

"That was fun!" enthused the blue exceed.

"Yeah, I wonder if Natsu will be alright tomorrow." Lucy said thoughtfully. She climbed under the blankets with him and Happy followed. "He's a really amazing person."

"Aye." Happy agreed sleepily. Sandwiched between the two of them, Lucy fell asleep.

"Luce." Natsu's voice woke her up. She blinked, rubbing her eyes. It appeared to be dawn, and Natsu was looking at her with one of his serious expressions.

"Yes?" she asked, turning to give him her full attention.

"Will you tell me the truth? I won't tell anyone." he asked her. She blinked sleepily.

"What?" she asked. He turned onto his stomach and stretched while giving her a chance to wake up a little more before speaking again.

"When did you and Laxus start seeing each other?" he asked. Lucy understood immediately what he had been referring to earlier. She frowned.

"I'll tell you but you have to promise me that you aren't going to think badly of me." She said quietly. She could hear Happy's even breathing from his spot at the end of the bed. He always ended up there because Natsu rolled too much. Lucy figured this might be a side effect of sleeping in hammocks. Natsu looked over at her and she could tell that he was asking her why she would worry about something like that.

"You're my best friend, I don't think I could ever feel that way. Can you promise me the same if I tell you something?" he responded. Lucy raised her eyebrows. It was apparent to her now that whatever it was that Natsu hadn't wanted to tell her before was weighing heavily on his heart.

"Of course. I'll go first, if you don't mind." She said. He nodded, so she continued. "The truth is that I hurt Laxus for a long time. Three months ago, I decided I didn't want to remember something embarrassing so he was alone because of it. I'm ashamed of it now, and I bet he wouldn't even accept an apology if I gave one. The truth is that I slept with Laxus three months ago. That's not a very romantic way to start a relationship, I know. It's hard to explain, but we both had feelings for each other before then but for some reason we just acted rashly that night." Lucy buried her face into her pillow, not wanting to see Natsu's face.

"I thought so. I'm sorry that I didn't protect you better." Lucy raised her head suddenly to meet his sad eyes.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. So Natsu had always known? She wanted to be mad at him for not telling her that it was Laxus' baby right from the beginning but the truth was she had never asked him. If she had, he probably would have told her everything. She felt even more embarrassed, because not only had she left Laxus to question her feelings for him – Natsu too had been worrying about her all this time. She supposed running away had always been her special skill.

"I tried to keep you from Laxus when his dragon magic triggered and he went into heat. I wasn't trying to hurt either of you, but I was worried that he would hurt you. Mating isn't always a gentle process." He explained. "That's what Igneel told me."

"It wasn't your fault. I went to Laxus on my own. He was trying so hard to keep his distance." She said, feeling a little bashful.

"That's part of the magic. You were drawn to him. If I could have just protected you properly until it wore off... you probably wouldn't be pregnant and forced to marry him." Natsu said, finally turning his body towards hers again. She smiled softly. Natsu was so brave. Who else would have the courage to stand between a dragon slayer and their mate during such a time?

"I can't regret that night. With the way the two of us were, we might have taken years to finally approach one another."

"Wouldn't that have been better?"

"Laxus also taught me something: it's impossible to regret making your child, no matter what the circumstances. I wasn't forced to marry him, I want to." She said, averting her eyes in embarrassment. She'd never said those words out loud until this moment. Lucy wanted to marry Laxus. She wanted to mark him as hers in any way she could. She might have criticized Laxus for his insecurity and possessive nature but she was no better. "We're both impulsive people. If we had come together years in the future it probably wouldn't be that different."

"You really like him." Natsu said quietly.

"Yup." She answered smiling. He laid his hand on the side of her face, and she blushed at the intimacy of the gesture.

"I might not love you the way he does, but I do love you so don't forget about me, Happy, or the rest of our team entirely. Okay?" Lucy could only nod as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm still a part of Team Natsu, so even if I'm not always going on missions with you, make sure that you guys don't forget about me either." She replied, letting her tears fall. She'd been just as afraid as Natsu about being forgotten. Her life was changing so quickly, and there was no going back. She was going to be a mother, and it was almost a lonely prospect since Bisca was the only one who could understand what she was going through. Natsu messed up her hair, and she stopped crying. "Hey! Stop that!"

"As if I'd ever forget you."

"Aye!" said a sleepy cat voice near her ear. Happy had crawled up on her other side. "Me too – I won't forget about Lucy!"

"Will you promise to come visit me every time you come back from a mission and tell me about it?" Lucy asked.

"We'll keep coming no matter how many times Laxus kicks us out!" Happy said enthusiastically. A thought struck Lucy.

"Just... just don't enter the bedroom without knocking, okay? Oh, and maybe don't visit during the honeymoon more than once a month." Lucy asked, having forgone the conclusion that they would likely break in no matter what she told them.

"Psh. I'm not suicidal." Natsu replied, and they all laughed.


	33. Chapter 33

The morning of her wedding, Lucy was woken up by a particularly keen Erza who was possibly more excited about her wedding day than she was. Her maid of honour was so excited that she grabbed the comfortable blankets surrounding her, Natsu, and Happy before tossing them all onto the floor.

"Lucy, we need to get ready!" she said enthusiastically to the ball of blankets and limbs on the floor. Lucy crawled out before yawning sleepily. Only in Fairy Tail could an S class mage such as Erza both break into her apartment and not be surprised to find Natsu in her bed. She vaguely wondered who would be Natsu's and Happy's next victim once she was married. The reminder made her jump to attention – she was getting married today! The man she was marrying was the leader of the Thundergod Tribe that had once turned her to stone and the grandson of Fairy Tail's current master. It was almost a surreal thought now that she was standing in her own room surrounded by her friends. As her memories of the past two weeks flew past her not quite open eyes, she realized that Erza had placed a mug of black tea in front of her. Her slow descent into awareness was likely due to the fact that half the cup was empty by the time she realized it was even there. She stood up from her seat at her small dining table, suddenly feeling nauseous.

"I need to go take a bath!" she said, though it wasn't exactly a lie. It had been a while since she had thrown up in her own bathroom, she mused.

"I'm going to get the other bridesmaids, I'll be back in a bit." She heard Erza say to Natsu through the door. She was relieved once the eager maid of honour had left so that she could stop trying to be quiet about her morning sickness.

"Lucy we brought you something." Natsu and Happy said at the door a few minutes later. She flushed the toilet before going to see what it was. When she opened the door a small fraction, she could see that Natsu was holding a warm mug of tea and she almost told him to take it back before the smell reached her nose.

"Is that... ginger tea?" she asked, cautiously taking it from him.

"We thought it might help with the sickness." Natsu said as cheerfully as ever.

"Aye! We looked it up in the guild library." Happy added. It didn't smell like anything strange but Lucy was immediately suspicious. Nothing that came from their guild library's recipes could be normal.

"It's safe to drink?" she asked, looking over her teammates thoughtfully.

"It was written on a piece of paper that Bisca had apparently used as a bookmark when she was pregnant. Happy found it a while ago and asked her what it was." Natsu explained. Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"Does Bisca know?" she asked, fully aware that Natsu and Happy were the least sneaky people she knew.

"No – she stuck it in one of the other recipe books since she liked it so much." Happy explained. Lucy cautiously took a sip, and found that it really did just taste like ginger tea. Even more surprisingly, it was actually helping with her nausea.

"I still need to get ready, but thanks for this." She said before closing the bathroom door again. She still had one very important task ahead of her before Erza got back and that was to hopefully remove most of Natsu's smell from her skin before she got dressed. It was a particularly difficult task, considering that she herself did not have a sensitive enough nose to compete with the senses of a dragon slayer. Even so, she carefully washed herself with some scented soap and used a bit of body spray. When she left her bathroom, she found her room much busier and very full, compared to when she had left it. Her bridesmaids were all there getting ready, and there was a tall mirror set up against one wall which hadn't been there before.

"Good morning Lucy!" Levy said, noticing her first.

"Ah, good. Lucy, we can help you get into your dress in a few minutes." Erza said, looking up happily as she styled her hair.

"Is this yours?" she asked Erza while pointing at the mirror. She had a hard time imagining the great Titania owning a floor length mirror.

"It's a necessity if we're going to get ready here." Commented Evergreen. Lucy nodded in understanding, yes, that made much more sense. Lucy noted that Evergreen's undergarments were a lot more elegant than hers and realized too late that she hadn't bought anything special for the wedding. All the same, she moved to her dresser to pull out some underwear when she noticed that Natsu was still there. Both he and Happy were statues wearing blindfolds and she looked at Evergreen uneasily.

"You're going to turn them back later, right?" she asked.

"We didn't really have a choice, he insisted that he was the maid of honour again and wouldn't leave." Erza said before Evergreen had a chance to defend herself. Lucy sighed, and began to get dressed. She had chosen a relatively simple design for her wedding dress because of the time constraint but it was still beautiful. It had a sweetheart neckline and trumpet skirt that opened to reveal a golden sequined tulle skirt around her calves. She had chosen a sparkling mesh bolero to draw away from the otherwise plain straps to the dress that kept the whole thing anchored over her considerable cleavage. The white and gold aspects to her dress looked even better with her bridesmaids around her in their blue dresses. It was like lightning striking against a peaceful sky. Lucy smiled, because it was just the affect that she had hoped for.

"Ah! Lucy, you can borrow this." Levy suddenly said. Lucy looked at the yellow hair band that Levy wore sometimes. "It's your something borrowed item."

"Oh, thanks!" Lucy said, wondering how she should wear it. Even though it would look strange, she decided to wear it just the way she had the night of that fateful party. She tied it around her right arm, and Evergreen looked on while merely raising her eyebrows. Even if it wasn't elegant, Lucy felt it was perfect for being a subtle reminder of how she had come to be getting married in the first place.

"Here. This is for you." Evergreen said at last, handing over a box to Lucy. Lucy cautiously opened it, remembering that the brunette had yet to take her revenge for the baby books event yet. What she found inside surprised her. It was just a circlet made with cornflower blue gems formed to look like a crown of flowers.

"Thank you." Lucy said, looking at the slightly older woman thoughtfully. Perhaps she had misjudged Evergreen.

"Laxus paid for it." She said defensively. Lucy got the impression that Evergreen wasn't very good with the concept of female friends, and it was almost endearing to her at that moment.

Lucy and her bridesmaids were dressed when Evergreen finally released Natsu and Happy from her spell.

"Natsu, are you going to be okay?" Lucy asked him.

"Sure. Why?"

"You had so much to drink last night..."

"I had a cup of that tea too. It's surprisingly potent." Lucy looked at him in disbelief. "I woke up before Erza came over as well..." Lucy nodded. Whether or not he had planned to wake up before her, it had made things more convenient for her anyway. It wouldn't do to have the both of them fighting over the toilet first thing in the morning.

"We have to leave in a little while, are you changing into anything?" she asked. Natsu looked a little too excited at her question, and lifted a bag from the floor. "ANYTHING THAT ISN'T A DRESS!" He put the bag back down sadly. Lucy wasn't sure she wanted to know what horrors the bag contained, but Erza made the decision to investigate it herself.

"Natsu this is..." Erza started. She lifted something odd from the bag that was hard to distinguish at first. It looked like a child's craft version of Erza's thunder empress armour. There were random cardboard pieces and odd fabrics sewn together very messily.

"But I worked so hard on it!" he complained. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Lucy already had virgo's key ready to summon her. The woman had given her a nice change of clothing for Natsu once before, perhaps she could find it again.

"Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" Lucy summoned her without thinking.

"Mistress! That dress!" Virgo said, taking in Lucy's appearance. It all came back to Lucy very suddenly just why she hadn't wanted to summon any of the celestial spirits.

"It's cosplay!" Lucy replied quickly, much to the surprise of her bridesmaids. "Can you bring that formal blue outfit for Natsu from before? Ah! Please use the door!"

Once virgo had returned and disposed of the 'dress' and forced Natsu into the blue shirt and orange pants, Lucy set about summoning Cancer to style her hair into a braided updo. It seemed pointless to hold back from summoning her spirits now since she'd already called Virgo. Of course, she was more certain that Cancer would keep the whole thing to himself more than Virgo so she told him the truth at least. Lucy figured she had enough time before the news got back to Leo anyway.

"Lucy, I rented a car." Erza informed her as her celestial spirit had finished with her hair. Erza eyed the blue kitten heeled shoes that Lucy was putting on.

"Thanks Erza! You really think of everything." Lucy said gratefully.

"This is the first wedding I've been to so I did some research." Erza said shyly.

"Maybe you'll catch the bouquet and then it will be you planning a wedding next." Lucy teased.

"Don't be ridiculous!" she replied as her face began to match the colour of her hair. "I don't even have anyone!"

"My experience has been such that I realized that these things will catch you by surprise." Lucy said, winking.

"Let's go already!" Erza said while carefully draping a black cloak over Lucy's shoulders.


	34. Chapter 34

Laxus was at the guild hall while his grandfather made sure that everything was set up. His grandfather had put a lot of work into decorating the guild despite being initially against the wedding. He'd shuffled out the usual furniture out for some benches that he only could have borrowed from the cathedral or town hall. There was a gap between them so that Lucy had an aisle to walk down and hanging from the sides of the benches facing the aisle were sky blue forget-me-not flowers with yellow centers. The flower hadn't been chosen because of the name but because it fit the wedding colours Lucy had picked. It was still struck him as an unusual coincidence. Laxus looked down at his own attire: a black tuxedo coat over a golden yellow tie, vest, and white long sleeved dress shirt beneath it. His dress pants were the same black as his coat, and the only splash of contrasting colour on him besides the tie and vest was a blue forget-me-not boutonnière pinned to his lapel that his grandfather had insisted on. He reminded himself for the hundredth time since last night that a wedding was just one day and that his marriage with Lucy would be worth it. Though he had always planned to marry Lucy, weddings were full of all the things that Laxus wasn't very fond of. The photographer from Sorcerer's Monthly was already there and taking photos of the decorations while Makarov happily showed them off.

"Coooool!" Jason continued to gush at every new thing Makarov pointed out.

Bickslow and Freed were standing nearby supposedly as support but Bickslow kept messing around with the decorations, much to Makarov's irritation.

"I can't wait for this day to be over." Laxus said under his breath.

"Hm?" Bickslow looked up.

"It's nothing." After this day was over it would be very clear to everyone that Lucy was his now, so they would stop looking at her the way they did. As much as Lucy might dread it, Laxus selfishly looked forward to when she would inevitably gain weight as her pregnancy progressed. He sighed. He was practically the stereotypical dragon slayer, desiring a complete possession that was impossible without becoming isolated mountain hermits. Lucy probably wouldn't go for that idea.

"Hey, I heard something interesting about Lucy's bachelorette party." Bickslow suddenly said, switching targets to the younger Dreyar man. Laxus had spent the evening before the wedding sparring with his team, and had been successfully deterred from interrupting said party until very late. By that point, Lucy wasn't there and hadn't been for hours based on her faint scent. Even worse, every person there was ridiculously drunk so he beat a hasty retreat. He could tell by the look on Freed's face that he was failing to mask his sour expression well.

"Whatever. Anything planned by Natsu couldn't have been that much fun." Laxus said in an attempt to be nonchalant. He completely ignored the fact that if Lucy didn't have fun with Natsu she wouldn't insist on staying with his team.

"I heard there was a male stripper..." Bickslow teased. Laxus shrugged, and his friends looked surprised by his lack of a response.

"Now I know you're just baiting me."

"It's not an unusual practice for those types of parties." Bickslow continued. Laxus ignored him because guild members were beginning to file into the hall. Bickslow was always trying to rile him up lately, and Laxus suspected that the Thunder God Tribe was getting restless. He'd have to tell them to go on a job without him after the wedding. Ideally, it would be nice if everyone in the guild were too busy to intrude on them for a while.

"It's almost time," Makarov said, suddenly appearing nearby while Jason harassed the other guild members. "are you ready?" Laxus didn't answer right away, merely meeting his grandfather's eyes. Was he ready to marry Lucy? Easily. Laxus wasn't a man to wait around for the things he wanted. There were no lukewarm feelings in him. Lucy went from being just a woman in his guild to being the only woman with mastery over him in a few minutes on Tenrou island. When they'd finally come together they had skipped right from greetings to mating and they were now already expecting a child. They seemed to do everything at a break neck speed, but that was fine with Laxus. He'd seen enough in life and in his career to know that there wasn't time to hesitate. If you wanted something, you went for it or risked missing the opportunity altogether. Whether he was ready for what was likely to be a wedding that was almost guaranteed to be chaotic was another thing entirely.

"As ready as I will ever be."

Laxus took his place at the front of the room with Makarov who was acting as their officiant. His groomsmen filed out so that they could walk down the aisle with the bridesmaids. Bickslow didn't look bad in a suit, if anything it was a reminder that he was actually pretty attractive but his almost mohawk hair style just looked a little odd with it. Freed had already owned a suit, which hadn't been surprising. What had been surprising was Mira's insistence on Laxus making Elfman a groomsman. If anything, it would be more difficult for Elfman to get a suit tailored for him than Laxus. All the same, she had insisted that her brother needed to dress up once in a while and Elfman hadn't been opposed to it.

The lighting in the hall changed suddenly, alerting everyone that the ceremony was starting. Everyone sat down and looked expectantly at the doors. Laxus also looked with a tight feeling in his gut. He hadn't seen Lucy all yesterday and it was just hitting him now that she was going to walk in those doors. How should he greet her? Should he smile or play it cool?

Asuka led the wedding party as the flower girl, a beautiful crown of yellow flowers settled on her head. Her dark hair and complexion were complimented by her golden bell shaped dress. She was less than graceful with throwing the enchanted flower petals in her basket, but they fell on the floor and gave off a faint glow. Romeo carried the rings while putting some distance between himself and Asuka, clearly trying to avoid getting hit with flower petals as the young girl was throwing them pretty hard.

The first pair walked in, and Laxus noted with some interest that Erza was managing a neutral face while walking arm in arm with Bickslow. He had left these details to the bridesmaids and groomsmen to sort out but it was pretty typical of Erza to want to go first. Her scarlet hair contrasted against his blue and black hair quite a bit. It didn't help that Lucy had chosen blue bridesmaid dresses. Erza almost looked like she was being swallowed up by the colour. The next pair were Levy and Freed who looked awkward in comparison. Levy was the same age as Lucy, but she always looked much younger. Next to the similarly young faced Freed, he could tell why those two had chosen to walk together. Levy would have looked quite small walking next to Bickslow or Elfman. The most interesting pair to walk together by far was Evergreen and Elfman if only because they looked incredibly casual after seeing Levy and Freed's awkward connection. They definitely looked the most comfortable of all the couples, and that was just strange. Laxus could see that he wasn't the only one picking up on it, and he could almost feel Mirajane's intense focus on them. Elfman and Evergreen probably could too, and they kept their composure for the most part but Evergreen was beginning to blush. They'd nearly made it all the way down the aisle when she broke away from him prematurely and kicked him before running to join the other bridesmaids. Elfman didn't seem bothered by it, and for the first time Laxus began to suspect that the abuse might have been an indicator of a more intimate relationship than they were leading everyone else to believe.

He didn't have much time to think about it because that was when Lucy entered the hall. The lights softened and she took on the appearance of something like an impressionist painting. His grandfather had planned all this, but it still took his breath away. She was almost surreal as she glided slowly toward him.

"Cool!" a voice interrupted his thoughts, and he momentarily glared at a certain photographer. He turned his attention back to his beautiful bride and thought that maybe weddings weren't so bad after all. He longed to touch her, and it irritated him when he realized that Natsu was also there. Of course, he'd known that Natsu was walking her down the aisle but her appearance had surprised him. Based on the quiet admiration for the pair, it appeared that everyone else also approved of Natsu giving away the bride. As he met Natsu's black eyes, he expected to see some sort of resistance or rebellion but there was none. Merely a grim understanding and underlying threat that was clear to him. The two dragon slayers didn't need words as Natsu slowly passed Lucy's arm to him. Natsu was making it very clear that he was entrusting Laxus with someone very important and would not hesitate to skin him alive if he ever hurt her. Laxus removed any malice from his expression and nodded subtly in agreement. As Laxus took Lucy's soft arm in his, he thought that this ceremony was going awfully well for a Fairy Tail event.


	35. Chapter 35

Lucy wasn't entirely oblivious to the silent exchange between her best friend and husband. It was incredibly typical of the two to spend all this time opposing each other and only need a few minutes of complete silence to work out their issues. Lucy got the impression that though they would never admit it, they had a begrudging and reluctant respect for each other.

As Laxus wrapped her arm around his and Natsu respectfully backed away, her heart sped up. It had taken every ounce of will power she had not to sprint down the aisle and throw herself into his arms. Although she had a great time with her friends, she had missed him. Perhaps that was the entire point of the tradition? She let herself rest her head ever so slightly against his shoulder while Makarov began speaking. She had always wondered as a little girl what her wedding might be like and what was in front of her now was completely different. There was no big cathedral and she wasn't wearing a princess style ball gown with a train that spanned the entire aisle. Her father and mother weren't there. She wasn't marrying some fair and lean prince with a sweet face in a white, regal suit and yet it was more than her daydreaming could ever measure up to at the same time. So many things didn't matter. Although everyone had spent so much time and effort, there were so many things that she could have lived without. Her chest was filled with warmth and a light blush crossed her cheeks as she felt the admiration and love from all her guild mates and friends. Natsu sat in the front row with her bridesmaids on one side and the groomsmen sat on the other side. On her side there were two empty seats left out of respect for her dearly departed parents, and Laxus had stubbornly insisted on only leaving one seat open on his side. She'd been almost afraid what she would see when she looked at them, and found nothing but love and acceptance in their eyes. Only a week before Laxus had shocked them all with his wedding announcement and yet they now looked as if they had known all along. Lucy blinked furiously, realizing that it would be downright ridiculous for the bride to cry.

She thanked the stars that Mirajane broke into tears at that moment from her place in the second row. Hearing someone else be emotional seemed to help her get control of her emotions. For the first time, Lucy realized that she wasn't becoming overly emotional because of pregnancy hormones. She was feeling a little overwhelmed by her feelings and all these things happening so quickly. It hadn't been that long ago she'd wondered if she was ever going to find a boyfriend. She didn't really find a boyfriend after all but a husband, which was way better anyway. She glanced at Laxus' face from where she was standing and decided that this particular husband was worth skipping steps for.

She focused on the ceremony, and spoke where she was supposed to while feeling a little nervous. Things were going surprisingly smoothly.

"I now pronounce you -" Makarov began before the doors to the guild were broken open suddenly. People in the back rows ran forward and to the sides of the room to dodge the splintered wood flying in. Lucy heard Freed and Levy curse under their breath simultaneously. She supposed she should have guessed as much.

"LUCY!" The sound of Leo's voice sent a jolt of guilt straight into her heart. "I've come for you!" Lucy felt the air around her and Laxus becoming static and saw some lightning materializing around them. This was exactly the wrong way to provoke Laxus, who had been working very hard to keep his possessive nature in check for the last few days. Erza moved quickly in front of them, putting up her arm to block them.

"As your maid of honour, I had suspected this might happen. I will take care of it." Lucy was now beyond impressed with Erza's wedding planning skills and was convinced that should she ever retire from mage work that she could be the best wedding planner in the country. Lucy hadn't said a word about not resolving things with a certain celestial spirit who was enamored with her and yet the scarlet haired maid of honour had planned for this possible outcome. It was likely that she had even had Freed and Levy use their powers to seal the doors. Lucy had only one minute to appreciate Erza Scarlet in her skills when Natsu jumped up from the front row.

"I'll do it! I'm her best friend!" Natsu said, moving to intercept Leo.

"Even if I have to fight the whole guild, I will do it. Can't you see Lucy is sad?!"

"Loki..." she said, realizing that she had let her guilty feelings show on her face. No wonder he was all fired up, he thought she was unhappy. It made her feel twice as bad about the whole thing.

"What are you doing Natsu?! Don't get in my way!" Erza argued with Natsu. From Lucy's vantage point, she could see that things were quickly escalating and that someone needed to stop it before they caused even more property damage.

"Just try it bastard! I won't let you get anywhere near Lucy and -" Laxus howled before Lucy acted quickly and cut him off with an impromptu kiss. She was certain he'd been far too close to revealing their little secret. Laxus had calmed down considerably as he always did when she touched him, but Lucy wondered why Makarov had been silent this whole time.

"Are you sad, Lucy?" he asked her. Lucy realized that the question wasn't unwarranted. Their relationship had been packed full of surprises for the pair themselves, let alone their friends and family. If anyone was going to take control here, it was her. Lucy Heartfilia, and in the future Lucy Dreyar, would not be a woman who was kept or looked after. Laxus and their child didn't need that kind of woman. She stood up straight and turned to face where Loki had stopped struggling against Natsu and Erza. Apparently her kissing Laxus had managed to silence the whole room.

"Loki," she said, addressing him with his human name. She took a deep breath. "I LOVE LAXUS AND IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THE WHOLE GUILD TO MARRY HIM I WILL!" There wasn't really a need to yell since everyone was quiet, but it felt like the only way she could say something so personal and embarrassing. The room had already been silent and staring at her before her proclamation but now it was making her nervous. Ever so slowly, she saw Loki break into a bittersweet smile. She returned it, relieved that her feelings had finally reached him.

"Well you should have just said so." Loki said before moving to sit in one the now empty back rows. He straightened his suit, and Lucy allowed her eyes to move back to where Erza had Natsu head locked. They slowly untangled themselves and sat in one of the empty benches.

"Maybe you should just sign the marriage licence before anything else happens." Makarov said, catching the couple's attention once more. Lucy looked at Laxus and they held each other's gaze for a moment before nodding affirmatively at the older man.

They each signed their names followed by their witnesses, Erza and Bickslow. Lucy and Laxus simultaneously let out a relieved sigh when it was officially done and it was time to go back down the aisle. Some of the guild members had been kind enough to clear away some of the debris while they were signing the licence so that they didn't have any trouble getting out. Once they and their cheering nakama were gathered outside, Lucy threw her bouquet without looking. Frankly, the whole ordeal had been tiring and she was ready to be done with it.

She took Laxus by surprise when she used his tie as leverage to pull his face down towards hers.

"You know, I recall that you made me a promise to me once I was your wife. Wanna leave?"

"Whatever you want." he said while scooping her up into his arms. One lightning bolt later, they were gone.

"Oh well, more booze for me!" Cana said.

"Hey, there was a stripper at the bachelorette party right?" Bickslow asked Erza suddenly.

"What?"

"Male stripper!" his dolls answered.

"I don't think so. I don't remember one. Did you strip Grey?" Erza asked.

Wendy stood apart from the others, feeling incredibly shy. Though she hadn't been aiming to catch it, she had caught Lucy's bouquet.

"How exciting!" Levy said to the younger girl.

"You take it!" Wendy replied, clearly embarrassed.

"It's fine, I don't need it." Levy said.

"You're pretty confident, shrimp." Gajeel said. Levy chose not to waste her words and smiled at him.

Elsewhere, Lucy was taking in the view from their suite in Akane beach. She hadn't been here in a while, and it was a nice surprise though she didn't have any clothing with her besides her wedding dress. It would have been nice to have her bathing suit at the very least.

"This is a nice surprise." Lucy sighed blissfully. It would be so nice to spend some time to just be pregnant and not have to go to great lengths to hide it from her friends. She wondered just when Laxus had booked them a hotel room.

"It was a gift from the old man." Laxus said, joining her on the balcony. Lucy smiled, barely holding back laughter.

"He was serious about seeing the face of his great grandchild, huh?" Lucy said, guessing correctly that the master either had no idea that she was already pregnant or was pretending not to know for the sake of her modesty. "Little does he know he'll meet that person sooner than he realizes." She felt Laxus move behind her and wrap his arms around her gently. She leaned back into his hold.

"That's fine. I might not be a good person, but I keep my promises." he said, licking the outer shell of her ear. She shivered despite the warm breeze. As he moved his hot mouth down to her neck, she felt herself growing impossibly wet. Whether her neck had become a sensitive area because of the magic or if it had always been sensitive was a question that she didn't have the focus to bother with at that moment. As she felt him brush his teeth against that particular spot on her neck, she moaned a weak protest.

"Just promise me you're not going to bite me again."

"You don't like it?" he breathed against her neck.

"I don't know if it's possible, but I think I'd like to limit the number of babies inside me to just one at a time." she sighed as he reached around her body with one hand to massage her right breast through the fabric of her dress.

"I don't mind either way, but I'll respect your wishes." Lucy bristled with what little irritation she could muster under his intimate touches. She'd never thought of him as the type of man who would desire a large family, though she chastised herself for not realizing this earlier based on his instant acceptance of her pregnancy. He began planting light kisses down the side of her neck while reaching under her bolero to pop the first few buttons on the back of her dress.

"Laxus," she sighed as he interrupted her thoughts when his hand slipped under her dress and strapless bra to tease her nipple directly. "not here, someone will see." He continued to pop the buttons on the back of her dress before he answered gruffly.

"I can't wait any longer." As he latched his mouth fully over the sensitive spot on her neck and sucked on it, she realized she couldn't either. Holding the front of her dress to her chest in a vain attempt to keep her modesty, she leaned onto the bannister in front of her while he hiked up the back of her skirt. Her skin was flushed with anticipation, and she could feel that the fabric of her panties were already wet before he even yanked them down to her ankles. She clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress her moan as he sheathed himself fully within her without warning. She felt a mixture of pain and pleasure at his impressive girth and realized that she had cum just from him entering her. "Shit you're tight." She heard him say it as though he was far away, panting as he slowly began moving within her. All thoughts left her mind as he began to gently piston into her and she felt herself tighten around him as she approached her second orgasm. This was nothing like their first time which had felt rushed and rough. Months earlier they had mated, but now he was making love to her and she was finding it difficult to keep standing as her second orgasm hit her. Her legs were shaking so he turned her and lifted her against the wall separating them from their suite. She wrapped her legs around his waist for support as he entered her again.

"Oh!" was the only word she was capable of saying while she gave up on holding her dress against her chest. She held tightly to his shoulders as he picked up speed.

"Fuck Lucy, you're squeezing me so hard I'm going to cum."

"Ah!" she answered, arching her back as best she could against the wall as she felt him fill her with his warm seed. She closed her eyes and threw her head back while moaning as she squeezed him dry. In the months that had passed she'd forgotten how amazing it felt when he came inside her. She felt her body go limp and he easily carried her into their suite. He laid her on the bed and eased himself next to her as she caught her breath.

"Want to do it in the bathroom next?" he asked mischievously.

"Yes."

She finally gave Laxus some credit for putting this off. If they'd done this last week, she wasn't sure either of them would have showed up to their own wedding.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.  
> I have cross posted this to Fanfiction.net because this is the explicit version whereas FF.net only allows M rating. The explicit content only takes place starting in chapter 17 though, so don't get too excited.  
> My amazing beta reader can be found on FF.net under the pen name Gangzta4life5 and I cannot recommend him highly enough. Because of his support I am able to make frequent updates, though the chapters are short to compensate. I also want to thank Tiernank for stepping in and proofreading the last chapter that everyone has been waiting so patiently for.


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